Lying Snake
by Tauvian
Summary: Chloe woke up groggily. Her head pounded with pain, her throat burned, her legs extremely sore, and her body sticky. She could barely breathe it was so hot... Chlex/Chlollie/Chlark
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

**Prologue**

Chloe woke up groggily. Her head pounded with pain, her throat burned, her legs extremely sore, and her body sticky. She could barely breath it was so hot, she was sweating. She tried to stand, but fell to the ground as glass shards penetrated her skin at the base of her foot. She screamed from the pain, but managed to crawl a good distance from the glass and fireplace. Now that she was a little cooler, she glanced around at her surroundings. She was in a study. Not just any study, but Lex's study. Yet there was no sign of Lex. She noticed the darkness of the sky, and realized how late it was. But worst off, no one would come looking for her because her father was out of town and she was headed to Metropolis for some down time. Everyone knew she did not want to be disturbed. She contemplated calling out for Clark, surely he'd hear her, but then Lex would no doubt be suspicious, especially if he was watching her right now.

Chloe sighed and dug the glass out of her feet one shard at a time. Once she finished, she grabbed onto the side of Lex's desk and pulled herself up onto her now burning, bloody feet. She didn't know how she got here. Last thing she remembered was being stuck in a chair with FBI agents interrogating her. And that was it. No wait, that wasn't true. She also remembered a slight pinch on her neck. Was she drugged? Chloe scoffed at herself. 'Well, duh, of course I was drugged. Testing the strength of her legs, she slowly made her way to the door, the very far away door. She was in a tremendous amount of pain. Finally, she reached the door and pulled onto it. Half expecting it to be locked from the outside, she was delighted that it swung open. She squeezed through the opening, since she didn't have enough strength to pull the door open all the way. Leaving trail of blood, she walked down the hall.

Relief hit her body as the coolness of the hallway calmed her down. She was really hoping she'd not run into any security, considering they might know of Lex intentions of her. She was so close now. She could see the opening of the foier, all she had to do was get there, then to the door, and she'd be home free.

But then just like a shadow, Lex appeared in front of her. "Now, where might you be headed?" He smirked and Chloe whimpered. And tears escaped her eyes as he grabbed her and tossed her to a couple security men, two Chloe had not seen before in her life.

"Lex, please…"She started, but he turned his back on her.

"Have her washed down and placed in the locked room. And get someone to clean up her mess." He ordered then walked the way to the foier, her previous destination.

"Lex!" Chloe yelled as the two men dragged her off.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

She was taken somewhere on the lower levels of the mansion. That being the lower levels she never knew existed. She was then taken inside a square room with a huge hose and a small drain in the center on the ground. Fear enveloped her as they stripped her of her dress and threw her into the middle of the room. The taller of the two then grabbed the hose and turned it on, then turned it towards her. Chloe was knocked back by the pressure and desperately tried to block it, but that was of no use. They continued to water her down for the next fifteen minutes.

Before she knew it, the water stopped and they grabbed her naked form and pulled a brown straw dress over her head. Without drying her off, they dragged her down a few hallways; making turns when necessary, and stopped at a door at the end of one long hallway. The door was opened, and she was tossed inside. They closed the door and left. Left her in the dark all alone.

A/N: So that's the beginning. Interesting so far? Let me know what you think. Sorry so short, later chapters will be longer. Please review!!


	2. Chapter One: Getting Out

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

**Chapter One: Getting Out**

A very long time passed with Chloe in the dark. She was fed decent food, or at least edible food, and was allowed light when she fed, once a day; and the occasional 'shower' she received every blue moon. She was losing weight from the missing food in her regular diet. Her hair was becoming longer she knew and her body was stronger than the day it was when she arrived. She would pace in the dark, feel her way around, looking for weaknesses in the room. And each time, she came up short.

Lex would visit on occasion. Asking questions about Clark. Not once apologizing for what he is doing. She only hears his voice. His is the only voice she ever hears, no one is allowed to speak to her. Chloe brushed her hand threw her hair. It was mid-back now. Naturally it grew fast, since she wasn't getting it cut. Judging by the length though, she'd say she's been there for nearly twenty-six weeks.

Lex was causing her to miss her whole summer, she's no doubt lost her job at the Planet, no wait, he has already squashed that dream. She's probably in the missing ads by now. Her dad is probably worried sick, Lana is probably begging for Lex's help in finding her, Lex is using that to his advantage, and Clark and Lana are probably arguing about involving Lex. And Lois, with Clark, is probably suspicious about Lex's help.

Chloe starts laughing softly to herself. "I always knew I'd end up like Mom. Locked away in an asylum, or at least this is close enough to one. Only I have a resident crazy as my warden." She stated a loud and then started to laugh once again.

"Is that so?" His voice. How Chloe hated his voice. She groaned in displeasure.

"Go away Lex. Leave me to wallow in my doom."

"Now, now Chloe, don't talk that way, especially since you're getting out soon."

"Don't joke like that." She stated quietly in a small voice.

"No joke. Your disappearance has rendered too long. My resources will have found you. Your story will be that you were following a story and were discovered. Since then you were being held captive against your will. All this is true, but someone other than me will be taking the fall of your abduction."

"And if I don't go along."

"You have no choice. You're good at keeping secrets, so you will keep mine. Tell your farm boy or anyone for that matter and Gabe, or Lois, or Lucy, or your Uncle Sam will experience a rather bad case of dead."

"You've really changed Lex."

"Glad you see it my way." He paused. "You're going to stay the way you are, I plan to transport you underground. You are going overseas. The next time I see you, I will be saving you."

"Playing the hero once more I see."

He didn't respond to that. "Cheer up Chloe, you'll get your job back, well kind of. You'll be working for the Daily Planet once again, but you'll be working directly under me. My personal assistant one might say. Don't even think about saying no." He then slid a tray through her slot, "Enjoy your last meal here. Oh, and when you do return to civilization and the Planet wants a report on your hostage situation, be sure to make the story believable."

"Sure thing Lionel."

She could hear him begin to leave. "Cute." Was all he said and he was gone.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lex didn't lie, the next time she did see him, he was playing the hero, alone, and there was no one else with him. Before he took her to the plane to head back to the States, he took her to a glamorous hotel room he had been staying in to get her cleaned up.

He even had someone buy her some clothing to wear back home. Not her taste, but decent. After she bathe and dried her hair, she changed into the clothing. She wore an off-the-shoulder smocked ruffle trimmed top that showed a little bit of skin at the bottom. It would have been fine, if not for the fact that it was pink. She had on a dark blue jean skirt reaching mid-thigh and pink slip on sandals. Lex was an ass. She kept her slightly bouncy hair down.

Once she was refreshed they headed to Lex's private jet. She did not want to be alone with him. She hated to admit it, but she was afraid of Lex. What he did to her, was horrible. She'll never forgive him. "I don't bite." Was his smart remark to her being as far as she could from him on the plane. She looked over to him.

"I disagree." She then looked back out the window.

Lex grinned.

_Flashback_

_Lex stood in his study when two men in black suits walked in dragging someone between them. "Ah, right on time."_

"_Where would you like us to put her Mr. Luthor?" The shorter of the two asked._

"_On the sofa, beside the fireplace." Lex watched as they half dragged half carried the slightly drugged Chloe to the couch. She was beginning to come to he knew. Once their task was finished, Lex ordered them to leave. And they did. He then grabbed a glass of white wine, he had had brought to his study. He walked over to Chloe, eyeing her appearance. She was in a stunning white dress as he instructed. He sat next to her. And patiently waited for her to awaken._

_End Flashback_

"Hope you like the clothes, I personally picked them out." He was trying to get a rise out of her, but didn't he understand it, he broke her. She may have kept Clark's secret from him, but such a weight finally crushed her. Lex frowned at her unresponsiveness. "When we return, the old Chloe had better resurface, I'd hate to get rid of all those you care about."

She looked him dead on. "Really, something tells me you'd enjoy it all too well." There it was, the fire he'd been fishing for.

"Just to update you. Clark and Lana, broken up. Lana and I, a couple again. Jimmy and Kara reunited."

Chloe did a double take. To be honest with herself, that last one stung; particularly because he had just proposed to her. That is, before she was abducted. "Wait a minute, you and Lana, how? Why would she even trust you? After all that you've done, why would anyone?"

"I was there for her in her grievance for you. I had only to implicate my father for being the reason that everything that went wrong in our relationship was due to his obsession with Clark. She immediately agreed; knowing Lionel so well. At least, she thinks she does."

"How's Clark? Who was there for him?"

"Clark? I was wondering when you'd mention Mr. Kent. He's fine, I don't know, nor do I care. I'm sure Ms. Lane was there for him."

"How is Lois?"

"Creating hell looking for you." Chloe smiled at that.

"And my father."

"Broken." Chloe frowned. And Lex added, "But Lois is looking after him. He should be better now, I sent news that I found you, but wouldn't be back until you had time to recuperate."

"I'm glad Lois looked out for him. I'm all he has." She looked out the window and Lex stared at her. "I hate you." Was all she said, and Lex was surprised to find out how much her words effected him. "I hate you so much. I will never forget and I will never forgive you for what you've done to me." She then looked at him. "You said you once thought you loved me."

Chloe knew by the look on his face, he thought she didn't remember, but all that time spent alone in the dark room brought buried memories to the surface.

A/N: Next ch to follow soon. A flashback is coming up. Stay tuned! Please review.


	3. Chapter Two: Secret Keeper

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

**Chapter Two: Secret Keeper**

_Flashback_

_Chloe began to stir awake, when she came to, the first thing she did was to rub her sore neck. "I'm sorry about that."_

_It took Chloe a full second to recognize that voice. His voice. She turned her head to gaze into icy blue eyes. She recognized those eyes as well. "Lex?" She whispered. Then slowly took in her surroundings. "What am I doing here?" She pushed herself up on the couch into a sitting position. "How-"_

"_Shhh, Chloe, it's okay." Lex attempted to calm Chloe down._

_Though she felt slightly groggy, she was still Chloe. "Don't shhh me Lex. Why am I here and not in a FBI interrogation room?" Chloe suddenly gasped. "Have you done something to Jimmy?"_

_Lex scoffed whilst resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "The boy is quite the simpleton. Hardly worth my time."_

_Chloe, however, did roll her eyes. "Oh, forgive me, for I have forgotten that I was in the presence of a Luthor." She stated sarcastically. "Get off your high horse Lex. And stop evading the question. Why am I here?" A brief pause. "And what the hell am I wearing? Is that wine you're holding?" Lex only raised a brow at her question. "Is this your sick attempt to get me to go on a date with you?"_

_Lex laughed. Chloe was a little freaked out, not because he was laughing, but because of how he was laughing. Like a complete psychopath. "Funny you should say that. But no, sorry to crush your girlhood dreams." He held out the glass of wine to her. "This is for you." Chloe didn't reach for it. "It's not poisoned." Chloe gave him a yeah right look. "Look, if I wanted to poison you, I would have done so already."_

_Chloe knew he was right. He could have poisoned her instead of drugging her in the first place, if he wanted to. Begrudgingly she took the proffered glass. Chloe contemplates throwing her glass into the fireplace before taking a sip of the gratifying liquid. She knows she'll regret this later. "You still haven't told me what you want." She says. "If this is some sick, twisted form of seduction, it won't work."_

"_I know."_

"_I'm not Lana."_

"_I know." He's silent for awhile, before he speaks again. "A misfortune really. It would have made things much easier."_

_Before Chloe could respond to him her limbs started to burn. Thinking she's too close to the fire, she makes to stand and stumbles slightly as her legs catch on fire. At least that's what she thought until she looks down and sees that they are in fact, not on fire. She feels a rush of liquid around her bare feet, after her glass slips from her fingertips. Something is wrong. That much is clear to her. 'I need to get out.' She thinks to herself. She tries to move her legs towards the door, but she turns, staggers, and collapses onto the floor at the mouth of the fireplace. She looks up and sees Lex staring at her from his place on the sofa. 'The wine. Stupid Chloe.' "What did you do to me Lex?!"_

_Lex stared at her, revealing no emotion. "Are you feeling well Chloe?"_

"_Cut the crap Lex! What is this?" Her eyes full of tears._

_He rises from his position. He lowers himself to her level. "I drugged you." He simply states as he grabs her by her shoulders. He pulls her to him and inhales her scent deeply._

"_What do you want?" She asks, tears running down her face now._

"_Oh, a lot of things. For starters, how about the truth. And Chloe I know that you know the truth. You are truth itself. His little secret keeper. And don't try to play dumb, we both know who 'He' is. I know he's confided in you, everything. And I'll rip you apart, if I have to, to get my answers."_

"_Lex, please. You don't know what you're saying." Chloe silently pleaded._

"_Don't I?" Lex smirked as he dropped her onto the glass covered floor. "Why Chloe? Why did he choose you to keep his secrets? Why not Lana? What is so special about you that he would trust and love you the way he does? And believe me, he does love you; he's just too thick to see it. But, so did I. At least, I thought I loved you once…_

_End Flashback_

She shook her head. "You know what's sad; you think that you'll find something with Lana, love. I'll tell you right now, you won't. She'll be like all the others, you know why, the same reason Clark kept things from her. She's too shallow, oh sure she pretends to be deep, and don't get me wrong I care about Lana, but if your world does not revolve around hers, she'll let you down."

"Lana is not like that." He retorts, but he knows she's right.

"Please Lex, you use to be smarter than this. You are a rebound used to hurt Clark like he's hurt her; and a rebound twice at that. You must really like the role. I will admit that I believe Lana's feelings for Clark were genuine, but not strong enough to test." Chloe hesitated before she continued. "You know, I thought I loved you once too; I thought you were different, that you'd never hurt me. I once felt more safe with you than with Clark. I would have taken the good with the bad, kept your secrets. You know, if things had played out differently my loyalty would be to you and not him. But I lost respect for you when you went after Lana. I realized that you were no different; you couldn't fight the pull she had. And I realized that I had to pull from you and to Clark and that's when his and my friendship became stronger than ever. He has hurt me so many times, but his love for me is so pure, even with out the romantic interest, I feel this sense of security, this peace, this consistency that I never felt with you. And for the first time in a long time, I feel happy."

"And I bet you can't wait to run back into his arms." Lex said with such malice it surprised him. He thought she looked so beautiful with her hair long drapped across her shoulders.

As if reading his thoughts, Chloe spoke. "I don't want him to see me like this. Long hair, pink. I guess since I'm blond it's not too much comparison to Lana, but pink? What if he liked the look? This isn't me. And I hate you for picking it out. Oh yeah and by the way you owe me a white dress." She crossed her arms in front of her. 'Even if it wasn't mine to begin with.' She continued to herself.

Lex chuckled. "I'll buy you anything you desire Chloe."

"I desire nothing from you. I only want you to replace what you've ruined. And look at me Lex, I look as anorexic as Lana does. You know maybe I should dye my hair brunette, I'm sure then Clark would notice that I am indeed a girl. On second thought, you'd probably notice too, you know with your obsession over brunettes." She chuckled, then stopped. "Only I'm not big busted or a ditz."

"No need to worry, the former could be fixed." Lex smirked and Chloe groaned.

"Not on your life pal." She stated adamantly . Then he did a full fledged laugh that made Chloe's stomach butterfly and it hurt. It hurt her that she still had feelings for this monster.

Lex sobered up as the plane landed. He glanced at his new game piece. He knew that going through Chloe was the only way to get to Clark. Even using Lana wasn't enough. He wasn't very certain that his plans would go smoothly this time around, but he knew one thing for sure. She should be his. And when this is all over, she will be.

A/N: Okay, there's another chap. I wonder how Chloe is going to adapt going back to her old life. Guess we'll have to wait to find out. Please review.


	4. Chapter Three: Nobody's Hero

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

**Chapter Three: Nobody's Hero**

Once they exited the plane, Chloe could see her father and Lois standing together in the distance. Jimmy and his new-ex-fling Kara was there as well. She slightly frowned at the sight. Chloe also spotted Lana and Mrs. Kent. What she found odd was that beside Mrs. Kent stood Oliver Queen. She turned to Lex with a puzzled expression. "What the hell is Ollie doing here?" In secret, she was glad to see that he cared.

Lex frowned as he noticed Chloe's use of Oliver's nickname. "I didn't know you and Mr. Queen were on such familiar terms."

"Well, he and my cousin were once quite the item." Chloe explained, leaving out the details of her after hours side job. "And I noticed you didn't answer my question."

"I had no idea he would be here. Perhaps he is simply showing the lovely Ms. Lane some support." Lex explained.

"Yes of course, God forbid someone to show _plain me_ any support." Chloe snapped at Lex. She wasn't sure why, but she assumed Lex was trying to insult her.

Lex's frown deepened. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were jealous." He sneered.

"Then perhaps you should leave the thinking to us professionals." Was her snarky reply, as she made her way to the awaiting crowd.

--

Chloe soon found herself smothered in her father's arms. "Chloe, dear God, thank you, thank you for bringing my Chloe back to me." He then looked at Lex. "And thank you Lex, for finding her." Once Chloe was released from her dad, Lois squeezed the life out of her.

"Chloe this investigating alone really needs to stop. You're always in danger. I'm glad you're home." After Lois, came Jimmy and Kara and their awkward welcome backs. Jimmy gave her a sad little smile. He seemed uncertain, as he should be. Kara hugged her, which Chloe in turn thought was her attempt at easing the awkwardness. It didn't work. Once Kara had let go Lana gave Chloe a curt hug, and then let go of her when Oliver came up beside them. Lana retreated into Lex's arms, to thank him no doubt.

"Miss Sullivan." He held out his hand. He acted all business in front of everyone, but Chloe could see the emotions clear across his face. This was anything but business.

"Mr Queen." Chloe took his firm grasp into hers and gave him her mega watt smile.

Oliver returned the smile as he moved forward and bent his head. His mouth hovered over her ear as he whispered, "Glad to have you back, Watchtower." Before Chloe could say anything, he stepped back for Mrs. Kent to hug her.

"Chloe dear, we've been looking everywhere for you. Clark and I-"

"Where is Clark?" Chloe asked, curious to know where her best friend was.

"Right behind you." Chloe turned around at the voice. She saw a very seriously fearful Clark. He looked into her eyes and pulled her into a tight nearly life crushing hug. He whispered, "I couldn't find you Chloe. Me. And I searched everywhere, and I mean everywhere." He pulled her back to look into her eyes. Their foreheads touching. "I thought I had lost you for real this time. I... I missed you... so much." Then he stayed silent for the longest. Chloe could see all the love of a best friend in his eyes and a little more. Clark Kent was actually scared of losing her. And Chloe smiled, now knowing how much she meant to him.

Everyone stared at them a little surprised. Lana seemed a little upset and so did Lex she noticed, but assumed it was because she was upset. Lois decided to break the tension. "Pink? Chlo, did they decide to torture you with pink? The horror, no offense Lana, but Chloe and pink are like an oxymoron. Let's get you home so you can change."

Chloe broke out of Clark's embrace and laughed at her cousin. "Great idea, I can't wait to be in something blue or green or red."

Lois smirked. "And about the hair?"

"I think I'll leave it long. There are so many things you can do with long hair." Her and Lois walked arm in arm back to the cars.

"Too true." Lois replied.

Clark and Gabe followed directly behind them, Martha and Oliver behind them, Jimmy and Kara behind them, and Lex and Lana ringing up the rear.

"How did you do it Lex, how'd you find her?" Lana asked so suddenly and so quietly he barely heard her.

"Just a perk from my many contacts." Lex answered indifferently. Considering there was no 'finding' her in the first place, he was already bored with the conversation. Then again, he was always bored of conversations with Lana.

"Good, because if Chloe never came back, it would have permanently broken the bond we all have. Even if I am no longer with Clark, I still hope that one day we could all be friends. And without Chloe, that could never happen."

Lex looked to Lana, abruptly interested in what she had to say. "You really think that you need Chloe to be friends with him?"

Lana looked to Lex. "You saw the look on his face. No matter how much he loved me, he would have never given me that look. Their bond is so much stronger because of a friendship forged years ago. She loves him, because he is so pure and selfless and innocent. And he loves her, because she is selfless and accepts him for who he is. Clark wants acceptance, more than anything. I admit that I was never able to give that to him fully, because he kept things from me. I needed to know Lex, but Chloe never did, she accepted that too. She trusted him and even after what she did, he trusts her as well."

"And this bothers you." Lex already knew that it did, because it bothers him as well.

"Yes, because I struggled so much with him, and it's like everything comes natural for her, because of a connection that I couldn't have." Lana pouted, and Lex couldn't help but be reminded of a spoiled little child.

'She always wants what she can't have. But I knew this already. Which is why she's so easy to manipulate.' Lex contemplated to himself, before voicing, "I see."

"I'm sorry Lex. I know I sound jealous, and maybe I am. But I know I don't want to be with him anymore, I just want to be his friend." Lana looked into Lex's eyes, but they weren't focused on her.

Lex sighed. "Yeah, I know what you mean." But Lex didn't understand what she meant. After everything that has happened between her and Clark, she still wants him in some way. She wants to stake a claim. Chloe was right, but of course he knew that. He's not back with Lana for her love, no. She has a larger purpose. He won't settle until everything is as it should be, at least in his eyes. Lex suddenly frowned as he grew deeper into thought. In all his preparations and planning, he did not calculate the arrival of Oliver Queen. One thing was for sure, if Queen was to get involved with Chloe outside of Lois, then he would become a problem. However lucky for Lex, he knows of numerous ways to solve a problem.

A/N: Love it? Hate it? Let me know.

Lex is a bit creepy isn't he. After this last season, it seems to me that Lex has finally snapped. I mean he has the crazy eyes and everything. So since he is so far gone, the only way he can probably show love is through obsession. For the reason he and Lana are together again, well, let's just say Lex always has an agenda. For those of you who are hoping for this to become a Clark/Chloe, I'm sorry, but it's not gonna happen. And it will be explained why they can never be together later in this fic. As for the apperance of Oliver, this will not have any Oliver/Lois drama, that ship has sailed. So has the Clark/Lana ship, but apparently CW didn't get that memo.

Thanks for reading and thanks for reviewing. Your words give me inspiration and help me write the new chapters faster. (hint hint) Not to mention they reduced my hours at work. Plenty of time on my hands. I'm gonna try to finish before school starts. Because then I'll be lacking time.

FYI: I thought you should know that I am updating every other day, so you don't have to check every single day. I hope that gives you peace of mind to know I'll be consistent in chapters. At least until school starts.

That's all for now.

Please Review!! Chaucito!! for now. :-)


	5. Chapter Four: I Love You Too

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

**Chapter Four: I Love You Too**

It had been a week since Chloe's return, and everything seemed as normal as it could be. She just arrived home from the air port, where she saw her dad off; going back to his job in Gotham City. Sure Chloe was going to miss her dad, but she felt a bit of relief from his departure. He would never leave her side while he was here. Afraid she'd up and disappear again. Chloe sighed as she tossed her purse and keys onto the kitchen counter and then sat down on the sofa. Well, it was more like she plopped down onto it. Boy was she tired. But she had a busy week, so she was entitled. She closed her eyes and thought about the events that led up to today.

_Flashback_

_Everyone was currently at the Kent farm. They sat in the living room while Martha prepared refreshments in the kitchen. Kara offered to help and Martha accepted. Lana and Lex sat on the love seat while Clark sat in the arm chair across from them. Oddly enough, he wasn't uncomfortable around their closeness, didn't even seem to notice them. Lois pounded down the stairs and sat on the couch, in between the armchair and love seat. She sat in the middle, beside Oliver. Jimmy, unfortunately, had to go back to Metropolis to work. He, unlike Lois, couldn't get the day off._

"_Okay, she finally found something of Kara's to wear. Honestly, that is one picky girl." Lois let out a sigh and sat back into the couch._

_--_

_Chloe stood in front of the mirror in Kara's bedroom. She stared at her new reflection. She kept her hair down. She wore a red and blue v-neck short tank top with dark blue jean short shorts and white tennis shoes. The top was short enough to show a little skin at the bottom. She looked different. She looked too much like Kara. First it was a blonde Lana, now this. "Okay, note to self, stay away from red and blue combinations along with pink." Leave it to Lois to suggest they come here first, instead of letting her go home and change. Really, the Talon is not that far. She left the room and made her way down the stairs._

_--_

"_So, where did my Uncle Gabe go?" Lois asked._

"_He said, this was very emotional for him and he had to collect himself at home. But he'll be back soon." Clark stated._

"_That's my dad, always trying to put up a strong front for me." Chloe stated as she made her way into the room with a wry grin on her face. Everyone stared at her. "Geez guys, I know I look different, but is it really that bad."_

"_No." Clark whispered in a daze, which everyone heard. Clark couldn't help but like her in the colors he considered his trademark. He blushed at the thought._

_Lana looked jealous at Clark's response to Chloe. Lois looked surprised. Oliver had an unreadable expression on his face; and Lex, well Lex looked hungry._

"_It's a good thing Uncle Gabe isn't here Chlo'. You'd of given him a heart attack at the sight of his little girl all grown up." Stated Lois with a smirk._

"_It's not that bad and they're not my clothes. Besides, it's your clothing Lois that would have put him in intensive care, not Kara's." Chloe stated with a sparkle in her eye._

_Lois grinned. "Good to have you back cuz."_

"_Great to be back." Chloe then made her way to sit next to Lois on the couch. She sat on the end closer to Clark. She noticed his blush and Lana's glare. But most of all she noticed the intense look from Lex, God she hated that man. She turned her attention to Lana when she spoke._

"_So how are you feeling Chloe?"_

"_Not too shabby. But enough about me, let's talk about you guys. Lex has caught me up on somethings, but are we all friends now, or what?" She finished her question looking at Clark, wanting to know his feelings on the whole Lex and Lana thing._

_Clark was silent for a moment before he turned towards Chloe with a solemn look. "You know Chloe, I haven't had much time to think about anything that wasn't Chloe-related, since you'd been gone. And that put a strain on Lana and me. I guess our relationship fell apart." _

"_I'm so-"_

"_No, don't apologize Chloe. You have nothing to be sorry for. So, me and Lana didn't work out. Can't say I'm surprised. It's not like we hadn't been down that road before. We fooled ourselves into thinking we could go backwards. But you can't Chloe, you can only go forwards. It's taken me a long time to figure that one out."_

"_You were always a little slow on the uptake." Chloe whispered in jest. Even though it was a joke, her face remained staid._

_Clark smiled at her, "You got me there." Then he went back into serious mode. "Lana and I decided to remain friends and I see no reasons why we can't." He took her hand closest to his and grasped it firmly. "If losing you has taught me anything, it's that the little time we have together is too precious to waste on anger, jealousies, and crushes. But to act on your true feelings while the day is still young." He then kissed her hand. "I've wasted so many years, going after a love that was never really mine to begin with. I was so blind to the truth…"_

"_Clark, I-"_

"…_right in front of me. If you had not come back Chloe, I would have lost it. I already was."_

"_I can vouch for that." Stated Lois receiving a glare from Clark._

"_I love you Chloe Sullivan, you're the best friend I'll ever have, and I'll love you till the day I die." Chloe beamed because in her heart she knew that Clark truly meant it. In the back of her head, she noticed Clark didn't completely answer her question. He didn't mention his feelings on Lex. But she didn't care. She didn't care at all, because she knew her best friend loved her, and that was enough for her._

"_I love you too Clark." She stated and they hugged, a long tight embrace that had Lex seeing red._

"_Come on you two, get a room, or a car, or a barn, but please no where my virgin eyes can see." Lois said._

_Chloe and Clark pulled away both blushing, but that didn't keep Chloe from commenting, "Virgin? Hah!"_

"_It's good to see you at your normal self again." Lex stated._

"_Why thank you, I'll accept that as a complement, Mr. Luthor." Chloe said with a smile. She noticed his jawline tense at the use of such a formal name. Inwardly she did a little dance. 'Take that Luthor.'_

"_Please Chloe, Lex." Lex suggested._

"_Maybe some other time." Chloe stated nonchalantly. Lex tensed._

"_What's going on?" Lana asked._

_Clark sighed. "Don't mind them Lana, they've always done this since they met. They call it their verbal, uhh, verbal…"_

"_Judo." Both Lex and Chloe stated._

"_Sounds like fun." Everyone turned their head towards the kitchen entrance where Kara and Martha stood. They carried in refreshments and set them on the living room table in front of everyone._

"_Okay guys dig in." Martha Kent stated as she retreated back into the kitchen to give the kids some space. And Kara went along with her. Partly because she saw no where to sit, somewhat because her and Chloe weren't that close and she felt like she'd intrude, but mainly because of Jimmy. She knew they had been an item so she comforted him for his loss and one thing led to another. She hoped Chloe would be able to forgive her._

_They all ate a little of the snacks._

_They had been talking about a little of this and that when Lois got up to go to the little girls room. Once she'd gone, that left the space between Chloe and Oliver vacant. Chloe noticed he had not been speaking. So she quickly turned her eyes on him and realized he had been staring at her. She blushed and opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it._

_Oliver grinned at her. "You look like you're enjoying yourself."_

_Chloe smiled, "I am." In the corner of her eye, she could see Lex. And boy was he not happy._

_End Flashback_

Chloe jerked awoke at the sound of knocking. She hadn't realized she fell asleep. The knocking was persistent. Slowly she realized it was coming from her door. Chloe raised herself from the sofa, brushed off her clothes and ran her fingers threw her hair in an attempt to look like she hadn't fallen asleep in her clothes. She walked towards the door, still a little bit in that post-waking up daze. She reached the door and pulled it opened. Her eyes opened wide. "What are you doing here?"

A/N: Yay! Another chapter! Who's at the door? I wonder.

Please Review!! Yaaaaayy!!


	6. Chapter Five: Clearing The Air

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

"_What are you doing here?"_

**Chapter Five: Clearing The Air**

"Hi Chloe. Can I come in?" The man at the door asked.

Chloe eyed him warily. "Come in Jimmy." She sighed and walked back to the sofa. Jimmy followed her after he closed the door. "So to what do I owe this visit?" She asked as she looked straight into his eyes. Or at least she tried, but Jimmy was having difficulty with keeping his eyes on one place. "Jimmy?"

"I'm sorry!" He blurted out, his eyes finally coming to rest onto her face. "I'm so sorry Chloe; for everything. I don't know what you could possibly be thinking of me."

"Jimmy calm down. It's okay. I underst-"

"No it's not Chloe, it's not okay. I… you… I mean…" He sighs, "It wasn't supposed to be this way. When I asked you to marry me, I meant it. I love you Chloe and I was willing to spend the rest of my life with you."

Chloe started to respond, but paused. Her brain did a replay, 'Was?', she thought. "Jimmy, what do you mean? What are you trying to tell me?" Chloe knows that she and Jimmy are over. He's with Kara now and she, well, she didn't feel the same about him anymore. Still, being dumped sucks, and she had a feeling she was about to be dumped again. Even if they were, technically, no longer together.

Jimmy takes Chloe's hands into his and looks into her eyes; never once breaking contact. "Chloe when you were gone and we couldn't find you. Let me tell you, those were the hardest months in my life; but not just me, everyone. Lois was on a rampage, your father made frequent trips to Smallville and Metropolis. Clark was losing his mind and it destroyed him and Lana."

Chloe interrupted Jimmy. "I know all of this already Jimmy. Please get to the point, you know how impatient I am."

Jimmy grinned wryly, "Chloe, you are one of the most patient people I know." Then he stopped smiling, "But I'll speed up for you just the same. It's hard for me to tell you this. We were all hurting and Kara… Kara was there for me in a way no one else could be. She helped the pain go away. And for that I am grateful. We… we grew closer. And before either of us knew it we… well, we fell for each other. And I mean we fell hard."

Chloe pulled her hands away from Jimmy. "Was I really that easy to get over? I hadn't been missing long?" Chloe didn't know why she was upset with Jimmy. She just was.

"No, no, not at all Chloe. I… I could never forget you." Jimmy had tears in his eyes. "I loved you. I still do. Just not in the same way. You have no idea the relief and happiness I felt when I heard you were found alive and well. You're the first woman I've ever loved. And let's face it Chloe, you are out of my league. You always were; I was just fooling myself into thinking that this wonderful, vibrant, intelligent young woman was mine. But you never were Chloe. And I think it's for the best. I think it's time I stopped being selfish and let you go. You're destined do great things one day and I… I would only hold you back." Jimmy rubbed off the few tears that escaped down his face.

Chloe's anger evaporated. Everything he said made perfect sense. He mentioned a lot of things she had thought over in the past. But the bottom line is, Jimmy was safe. She dated him because he was safe. And she would have married him for the same reason. Jimmy deserved better than that. And so did she. "Jimmy." She said softly.

Jimmy quickly stood up. "I just wanted to say that, to clear the air a little. Please don't be mad at Kara. If you need someone to blame, blame me."

Chloe stood up as well. "I'm not mad, nor do I blame either of you two. No one can explain the matters of the heart." After she said that, Lex flashed across her mind. She shook her head to block out the thoughts. "I'm happy that you and Kara found each other. Maybe you are meant to be." Chloe smiled wide at him to show her support. "You followed your heart and I'm not going to persecute you for doing something I have done numerous of times myself." Jimmy smiled in relief as Chloe hugged him. "I'm happy for you Jimmy, honest. I don't want you to feel bad for the choices you've made.' She then let go of him and took a step back. "We'll always be friends, won't we?"

Jimmy grinned at her. "You bet. I'm glad you understand. And Kara will feel more comfortable once I tell her." Chloe looked at him in confusion. "She thinks you blame her." He said in explanation.

Chloe nodded, now knowing why Kara kept her distance the day she came back. "Well, you just tell Kara, that if she wants, she can come have a talk with me. Maybe it will clear up her conscious a bit, if she were to here it from me."

Jimmy nodded at the idea. "I'll be sure to mention it to her." He casually checked his watch. "Oh, I've got to be heading back to Metropolis. I'll see you later?"

"Of course." She answered while walking him to the door.

"Great, bye Chloe." He said and walked out of the apartment. A great weight lifted off of his shoulders.

Chloe closed the door shut and leaned her back against it. "Goodbye Jimmy." She whispered to no one and she couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. Now she no longer had the burden of loving one Jimmy Olsen.

--

Chloe's home phone started ringing. With the smile still on her lips, she answered it. "Hello."

"_You sound like you're in a good mood." _Said the voice on the other line.

Chloe's smile suddenly widened. She recognized that voice. "I am, especially now that you've called. What's up?"

"_I was just calling to see if you were up to having lunch with me in Metropolis this afternoon?"_

Chloe racked her brain. She couldn't find any reason why not. "Sure, if you're buying."

"_Of course. Meet me at the Monet at one." _Came the smooth reply.

This sparked Chloe's curiosity. The Monet was a very romantic restaurant. "The Monet? Romantic much. You're not planning to propose to me are you?"

A deep chuckle came through the receiver. _"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not, you'll just have to show up, won't you."_

"No fair, using my naturally immense curiosity against me." She smirked. "Why are you doing this?" She asked while jotting down the restaurant's name and time. She knows of the place. Wanted to go a few times, but it's slightly out of her price range. Well, more like, outrageously out of her price range.

There came a pause on the other end. Then the deep voice answered, _"Like I said, you'll just have to show up, if you want answers. Besides, is it a crime to want to spend time with a beautiful lady?"_

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Chloe grew suspicious, as well as curious. "There's something else though. Something you're not telling me. So be prepared to be grilled at lunch Mister."

There was another slight chuckle on the line. Chloe realized that she was beginning to like it. _"I'd expect nothing less from you, Watchtower."_

A/N: So it was Jimmy. Sorry no Lex in this chapter. But I threw in Oliver's voice. LOL.

Now you have something to look forward to in next chapter. Lunch with Oliver.

Hope you liked it. Please Review.


	7. Chapter Six: Misunderstandings

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

**Chapter Six: Misunderstandings**

A towel clad Chloe stood in front of her mirror holding two outfits in either hand. She was trying to decide which to wear. Should she wear the black pant suit with her violet blouse or should she wear her black pencil skirt with her emerald satin blouse. She was partial to the green blouse, but it is Oliver's favorite color, obviously. She didn't want to be sending the wrong signals. Chloe sighed, "Get a grip girl. This is lunch, a friendly lunch. It doesn't matter what you wear." Chloe made a decision and put the pant suit down. It was far too strict and business looking anyway.

Once Chloe was dressed in her green top and black skirt, she curled the ends of her hair. She started to wear it up, but decided against it. She slid on her black pumps, grabbed her purse and keys, and headed out the door. Once she was in her car, she glanced in the rear view mirror. She had gone natural with her makeup, applying only touch here and there. She was pleased. She turned on her ignition and pulled out of the Talon's parking lot.

--

Chloe pulled up at the Monet, and allowed the valet to take her car. She entered the impressive restaurant. It was more beautiful than she had imagined. She noticed the stuffed shirt, pointed nose host to her left. She walked up to him with a smile on her face. "May I help you?" He asked her in disdain.

Chloe's smile tightened, but remained on her face none the less. "Yes. I am Chloe Sullivan, I am here to meet with Mr. Queen." Chloe had to refrain herself from laughing out loud at the look on the host's face.

Realizing she was the guest of a very important regular, the host did a one eighty and smiled at Chloe. A smile, she was sure, was as fake as her own. "Yes, of course Miss Sullivan right this way. I will seat you. Mr. Queen is already in attendance." He turned expecting her to follow. And she did.

Chloe resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him. But she came to the decision that it would be childish; and she was anything but. Before she knew it, they came to a stop at a table in a secluded area. And she found herself staring into baby blue eyes. The host made to pull out her chair for her, but Oliver beat him to the punch. She thanked Oliver as she sat down. She noticed him send the host away. And then he took his seat across from her.

"You look lovely." Oliver said before he could stop himself.

Chloe blushed. "Flattery will get you nowhere, Mr. Queen. Besides, you look pretty nice yourself." Chloe, of course, knew that was the understatement of the year. Oliver didn't just look pretty nice, he looked damned fine. Not that she'd ever say that to his face.

Oliver flashed her a smile and then took a few sips from his water glass. He wore a dark suit with a deep green shirt and tie underneath. "Please Chloe; I thought we were passed that whole last name issue."

Chloe smiled. "Yeah, we are. Sorry Oliver." He nodded his head in acceptance of her apology. The waiter came by and offered Chloe some water, which she gladly seized. Since Oliver was ready and Chloe already knew what she wanted, they ordered their lunch. Once the waiter was gone, Chloe eyed Oliver curiously. "Okay Ollie, spill. Why did you call me?"

Oliver was a little taken back by the question. Even though he knew it would be asked. "Straight to the point I see. I haven't seen you in almost a week, and well, I just thought it would be nice to have lunch with a dear friend."

Chloe searched Oliver's face, looking for a hint. Of what? She didn't exactly know. "Ollie…"

"Do you remember what I said to you?" He asked her quietly. Chloe looked into his eyes, boy did she ever.

_Flashback_

"_You look like you're enjoying yourself." Oliver stated, smiling at Chloe._

_Chloe smiled back. "I am." It was silent between the two for a few minutes. They could hear everyone around them, although they seemed further away. "So, how have you been?"_

_Oliver sighed, running a hand through his hair, "To be honest, I've been better. Everyone's life was flipped upside down when you went missing."_

_Chloe nodded her head in understanding, 'And you, was your life flipped upside down as well.' Was what she wanted to ask, but she dared not. Chloe glanced past Oliver to Lex. He was speaking to Lana about something Chloe cared not to know, but he kept an eye on her as well. This unnerved her. She looked back at Oliver, more cautious. Oliver noticed and raised a brow. Before he could ask what was wrong, Chloe asked him a question. "How are the boys?" She asked him in a low voice. She didn't want Lex overhearing._

_At her question, Oliver smiled. "They can't wait to see you. They wanted to be here today, but we thought it best that they weren't. You know, because of the mixed company."_

_Chloe nodded her head. "I can't wait to see them either. I miss them. I hope they didn't miss me too much." She said with a smile._

"_How could anyone not?" Oliver asked, staring into her large green eyes._

_This surprised Chloe. "Ollie-"_

"_We can't lose you again Chloe. 'I' can't lose you." He told her, with eyes full of fear and something else she couldn't name. However, before Chloe could ask him what he meant, Lois returned and reclaimed her seat._

"_What I miss?" Lois asked the room. Oliver turned to her and filled her in._

_As they started their own conversation, a puzzled Chloe started to glance around the room, but had to stop dead in her tracks. A pair of ice blue eyes were glaring at her. She knew that look. He was angry with her. For what? Chloe didn't really know. But she was smart enough to put two and two together. And at that moment, Chloe knew she was going to have to keep her distance with Oliver. Lex may already be on to Clark, but she couldn't let him turn his attention to Oliver._

_End Flashback_

"Do you remember what I said to you?" Oliver asked Chloe.

"Yes, I do." She answered softly. "And I remember, you didn't exactly explain what you meant.'

Oliver blinked. "What is there to explain?"

Chloe stared at him. 'Did I misunderstand what he said? No, no, I know I didn't. There was something in his eyes. I just don't know what it was.' She shook her head. "What is there to explain?" She echoed him. "What do you mean Oliver? You can't just say something like what you said to a girl and expect no questions to be asked."

Oliver's shoulders tensed, guarded. He frowned and said, "You want questions to be asked. Okay, try this one on for size. Why exactly have you been avoiding me since the day you came back? The boys are completely confused, but I told them not to seek you out; that you will come to them when you are ready. Only, I'm not so sure you will." He runs his hand through his hair, just like he did the last time she saw him. "Why, why are you hiding from me Chloe?"

Chloe matched his frown. "First of all, it was understood that I would be the one asking the questions. I didn't come here to get grilled. Second, my life does not revolve around you Oliver Queen, so get that notion out of your head right now. I have a life you know. Third, how dare you question me about the boys? I have my own reasons for not seeing them yet, thank you very much. But it does not mean I don't plan to." She took a deep breath. She looked him sternly in the eyes. "Now to the real issue at hand. What makes you think I am hiding from you? What did you mean, when you said 'you' couldn't lose me?"

Oliver was upset. This lunch was not going at all like he planned. They were supposed to be catching up, having a good time, not fighting. She's been running away from him the past week. At least it felt that way. And now she was throwing his words right back in his face; as though they disgusted her. Okay, now he was more than upset, he was downright angry. "I meant just that. I, we, the team, we can't lose our Watchtower. You're a great asset to the team." Once the words left his mouth, he wanted to shoved them right back in and say what he really meant. However, he couldn't, and he had to settle for watching the pain flicker across her face.

Chloe felt like she had been slapped. All this time, she thought that Oliver really cared. That he came for her, not Watchtower, but her, Chloe. And she was wrong. Watchtower is all she'd ever be to him. Just an asset, like he said. It hurt, it really did. Was everyone just prone to using her? "I see…" She said in a small voice.

Oliver hated seeing her this way. And it was worse, knowing he was the cause of it. He needed to do damage control. "Chloe I-"

She gasped, "Is this how the others feel? Is this why they're glad I'm back, because they 'need' me? You know, the Sidekick." She finished harshly. She was battling the tears swarming into her eyes. She forced them back. She would not cry in front of this man; this man who pretended to be her friend.

Oliver was shocked at her deduction. "No, no of course not Chloe. Please, let me explain-"

Chloe shook her head. "No I think you've said quite enough Mr. Queen." He winced at her tone. Chloe stood up. "I've lost my appetite." She turned to leave as he stood up. "Please don't follow." She then walked away, passing the waiter with their food on her way.

"Sir?" The waiter questioned him, as he threw a few bills onto the table covering the meal and tip and walked away.

--

"Chloe!" Oliver called as he exited the restaurant. He came to a stop right behind her as the valet ran off to retrieve her car. "Chloe." He said quietly.

"Leave me alone." She stated, not bothering to say his name.

Before Oliver could come up with something to say, a silver Porsche pulls up in front of the restaurant. Oliver holds in a groan as he takes notice of the couple exiting the vehicle. They walk over to where Chloe and he stood. One has a smirk on his face, while the other carried a more concerned expression. "What do you want?" Oliver was in no mood to fake pleasantries with this man.

"Is that anyway to talk to an old school chum Oliver?" The man asks before turning his gaze to Chloe. She looks up at him. He frowns noticing her unshed tears. He didn't like the look of those tears in her beautiful eyes. But he wasn't sure if it was because they were there, or just because he wasn't the cause of them. He sneered at her, "Good afternoon, Miss Sullivan."

A/N: Chapter six is up, YAY! Sorry for the wait. I was stuck with 12 hour shifts at work (Boo).

I hope the longer chapter makes up for it. Next chapter to be posted soon.

As for Chlark, not in this story, however, if you guys want, once I finish this story, I'll be more than happy to write one.

Tell me what you think. Please Review!!


	8. Chapter Seven: Living Arrangements?

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

**Chapter Seven: Living Arrangements?**

"Good afternoon, Miss Sullivan."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Luthor. Lana, how are you?" Chloe replied coolly, willing her eyes to dry.

"I'm fine Chloe," Lana frowned, "Are you alright?" She could always tell when Chloe was upset. The girl wore her heart on her sleeves. Usually Lana would just overlook it, but she was trying to be a better person. And Chloe 'is' her friend.

"I'm fine Lana, thanks for asking." Chloe replied. Surprised by Lana's question.

"We are heading inside for lunch. You two should join us." Lex offered.

"Sorry, we were just leaving. But please, don't let us keep you." Oliver told Lex. He didn't bother to mention the fact that they had not eaten and were leaving separately. That was none of Lex's business, as far as Oliver was concerned.

Lex ignored Oliver and looked straight into Chloe's eyes. She was always an open book to him. Well to anyone really, if they took the time to look. However, she avoided his gaze. She was clearly upset about something. 'Was it my appearance?' Lex wondered. 'No, she wouldn't be so quiet about it if it were. She won't look at me, and she is missing a great opportunity to attack me with her words, like she usually does. It can't be Lana, Chloe usually does her best to ignore the child. Oliver?' Lex took that moment to notice the tension between the two. His smirk widened. 'Now this is an interesting development.' "Well then, please don't let us intrude on the rest of your date." Lex said smoothly as he steered Lana past the two blondes. His smirk grew into a full blown smile. By the down look on Chloe's face and the anger present on Oliver's, Lex could say that he hit the nail quite fully on the head. They were having troubles. Lex realized this was a perfect opportunity to exploit such weakness and bring his plans for Chloe forward a week earlier than scheduled. 'Thank you Oliver Queen, for making everything a lot simpler.' Now all Lex had to do was get through lunch with the vapid princess with his brain cells intact. He held back a sigh as he noticed Lana open her mouth. This was going to be a long lunch.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

After Lex had gone, Chloe stood rigidly still. Oliver tried to calm is irritation at Lex. He looked over at Chloe, noticing her slumped shoulders. "Chloe."

"My car's here. I have to go. I'm…, I'm sorry about lunch, but I have to go." She headed to her car but was stopped.

Oliver held onto her arm. He realized he was on the verge of causing a scene. "Chloe please, just let me explain. I didn't mean-"

Chloe shook her arm loose from his hold. She turned around and looked at him with a huge smile on her face. "It was nice meeting with you Mr. Queen. We should definitely do this again sometime." She then walked away from him and into her car. She waved him goodbye then drove away.

Oliver stood there confused. The smile she gave him seemed foreign on her face. It was misplaced. It wasn't real. She was putting on a show. Oliver felt sick to his stomach. He didn't know how he was going to fix this. One thing was for sure though. He would be expecting to hear from Clark Kent soon.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

Chloe walked through the front door of her apartment. She placed her things onto her kitchen counter. Her phone rang once, twice, a third time, then she turned the ringer to mute. She sighed and walked into her bedroom. Casually tossing her phone onto the bed, Chloe opened her closet and pulled out her favorite P.J.'s. She took off her clothes, putting them away, and replaced them with a faded orange t-shirt and dark gray sweatpants cut off at her knees. She pulled her hair into a semi-high ponytail. Her phone began to ring again. Chloe climbed into her bed with her pillow over her head to drown out the ringing. She closed her eyes and let the hot tears flow, not bothering to muffle the sobs escaping her lips.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lex stood facing the window of his metropolis penthouse. He was in the living room. After his lunch with Lana, he had her sent to his mansion in Smallville. She was confused with why he wouldn't accompany her. But he placated her by mentioning something about LutherCorp. Of course she insisted on helping him. But he assured her that her help would not be needed.

Lex heard footsteps behind him. He turned to the new arrival. "Is everything ready?"

"Yes sir. Everything has been prepared."' The shorter dark-haired man replied.

"Very good. Have the car pulled up to the front." Lex turned his back on the man; returning his gaze to that of the city below him. His city.

"Yes sir." The man left the room.

Lex brought the glass of scotch he was holding to his lips. After a couple swallows, he smirks. "After tonight Miss Sullivan, your whole world is going to change." He smiles and takes another sip before setting his glass down and walking out of the room.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Chloe slowly opened her eyes. Hearing a soft knock at her door, she swiftly rose from the bed. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she walked out of her room and moved towards the knocking. "Talk about déjà vu." She muttered. With a quick glance at the window, she realized how long she slept. Her stomach moaned in protest of having missed both lunch and dinner. Patting it soothingly, she reached the door and pulled it open.

Before Chloe could object, her uninvited guest waltzed into her apartment. No matter how much she would love it, Chloe decided kicking her landlord out would not be in her best interest. Defeated, she closed the door behind her. "To what do I owe this displeasure?"

Lex turned to Chloe in mock hurt. With his hand against his chest, he spoke, "Chloe, I'm deeply wounded."'

Chloe frowned and crossed her arms. "What do you want Lex?"

"Many things Miss Sullivan." He moved farther into the apartment, but did not sit down.

"Why are you here Lex?" Chloe asked. He eyed her up and down and suddenly Chloe was self-conscious about her sleep clothes. "Are you going to answer any of my questions?"'

"Of course. I'm here because of an agreement we made. You haven't forgotten, have you?" Lex asked with his poker face.

"No I haven't forgotten. I'm surprised it's taken you so long to collect. So I'm supposed to work for you at the Planet. You didn't exactly specify when I was to start." Chloe pointed out.

"Immediately." He responded.

"Okay. So, why the drive over here? You could have just phoned me; or sent me an email." Chloe studied Lex for a moment. Something didn't add up. A worried expression covered her face. "What aren't you telling me?"

Lex grinned at her. "I've decided that since you will be working directly 'under' me, and quite 'personally,' it would be a good idea for you to reside in Metropolis."

Chloe tried not to shudder at the way he said 'under' and 'personally.' She licked her dry lips. Then her brain clicked on. 'Hold on a second, rewind… WHAT!' "What do you mean reside in Metropolis? You want me to move?"

"I will have better access to you if you were near. I don't plan to remain here in Smallville." Lex told her calmly.

"I'm fine where I am. I don't have time to look for another apartment. This is so not what I agreed to Lex?!" Chloe was beginning to see red.

"You don't need to worry about looking for an apartment. I said I wanted you close. So you will be staying at the penthouse… with me. Everything has been arranged." Lex finished, watching her closely.

Chloe's face was frozen in shock. Then it thawed into disbelief. And melted into anger. "Not on your life pal." She seethed.

"No not mine, but perhaps the life of your family, or your precious Clark. Tell me, how did it feel having him proclaim his undying love for you?" Lex sneered at her.

"First of all, leave my family out of this. Second of all, leave Clark out of this. Third of all, our proclamations of love were not derived from romance or lust, just love in its purest of sense." Chloe said defensively. "But you wouldn't know anything about that, now would you." Lex glared at her. Chloe knew she found sensitive territory.

"I hardly need a woman who can't even hold down a boyfriend to tell me anything about love." Chloe stiffened and Lex smirked. "Tell me Chloe. How did it feel to come home and see how easy it was for Jimmy to move on past you? He chose Kara, not once, but twice. But isn't that how it always is with the men in your life. Always looking for someone better. With Clark, it was Lana." Lex took a step closer to her. "With Jimmy, it was Kara." He took another step closer. "With Oliver, it will be Lois." One more step. Chloe's eyes watered at his last statement.

'With you, it was Lana.' She thought to herself, but wouldn't dare say it out loud.

Lex was now standing directly in front of Chloe; a breath away. "A second choice. That's all you ever were, and that's all you'll ever be." With that last statement, he brushed past her, taking extra care not to touch, and walked to the door. "Get dressed and pack an overnight bag. We're leaving in thirty-minutes." He said over his shoulder and walked out of the apartment.

At the sound of the door closing, Chloe sunk to the floor and cried. For the second time that day, she cried.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Chloe pulled herself together in time to pack her bag and select her outfit for the morning. She didn't change clothes however. She was comfortable in what she was already wearing. She slid on her sneakers and left the apartment, locking it on her way out. She met Lex outside at his car. She noticed his grimace at her clothes. She internally smiled. 'Score one for Chloe.' The driver held the door open for them. Lex insisted that Chloe enter first. She did. He followed. And soon they were off.

The drive to Metropolis was silent and uncomfortable. The ride in the elevator was nearly just as awkward. Once the doors to the penthouse rushed open, Lex led Chloe to his study. He motioned for one of the servants to put her things in her room. Chloe gave up her bag with a frown. The maid left the room, closing the door softly behind her. Once they were alone, Chloe turned on Lex. "Why are you doing this Lex? There is no reason for me to live under the same roof as you."

Lex didn't say anything. He simply walked over to his bar and poured himself a drink. "Can I get you anything?"

Chloe crossed her arms. "You can give me some answers."

Lex eyed over her person. Chloe once again felt self-conscious. She contemplated her choice of staying in her current attire. Lex moved closer towards her, as if he were a predator stalking his prey. He grinned. And not a pleasant grin either; more like sardonic. "I would give you the answers you seek. But I'm afraid that you may not like them."

Chloe moved her hands to her hips. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why should I stay here? What will I tell the others? What will you tell Lana, about me staying here? What will I tell Clark?" 'What will I tell Oliver?' She thought to herself. Chloe just about had it with Lex's weird behavior.

Lex set his glass down forcefully, nearly breaking the glass. He rushed to Chloe's side, closing the gap between them. "Again with Clark, I see. Can't seem to stop thinking about him, can you? And you call me obsessed." Lex mocked her.

Chloe glared at Lex. "I am not obsessed. He's my best friend. And if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were a little jealous. Then again, you always were jealous of Clark. He had everything you wanted; the loving father, the perfect mother, the adoring girlfriend, and not one, but two loyal best friends. It must really suck, being you."

Lex smirked with a dangerous gleam to his eyes. "Actually, it's not half bad." He reached his right hand up to caress the side of her arm. "There are many perks to being a Luthor." Chloe shivered at his touch. "But, what about you Chloe? You'll never be Lana, how do you cope?"

Chloe tried to move back from Lex's touch. "When did you turn into such an ass Lex?" She tried, in vain, to pull away from him. Lex just pulled her closer.

Lex brought his face closer to hers. "Why are you so loyal to him, Chloe? Clark's a fool." Lex told her. He gave her a once over, yet again, then continued in a whisper. "I wanted to rip his head off for touching you. You are mine Chloe." He grabbed the back of her head. And then he pulled her closer to him.

"What are you going to do? Kiss me. Don't make me sick. I hate you, and I'd sooner kill myself then allo-mmmhh" Lex captured her mouth in his. She pushed him away. "What the fuck do you think you are doing?"

Lex looked at Chloe with his intense gaze. He took in her disheveled hair and bruised lips, the angry look on her flushed face. He turned his back to her, and moved to reclaim his drink. He peered past his window and down to the city below. His city. "Outside of the door, you will find Bridget. She will show you to your new room." He stated dismissively, not bothering to look in her direction.

Chloe stared at him funny. She walked over to the door and placed her hand on the handle. "You had better keep your mind on Lana, cause I am no one's whore." She then opened the door and walk out.

Lex only smirked. "That's where you are mistaken Chloe."

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Hope you like the chapter.

Sorry for any typos, I was in a hurry to post this.

As usual, tell me what you think. Please review.


	9. Chapter Eight: Wake Up Call

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

**Chapter Eight: Wake Up Call**

Chloe stretched as she came to in her bed. She felt the warm sun caress her face as she opened her eyes slowly. She blinked once, twice, a third time before she realized, 'This isn't my bed.' She glanced around, eyes landing on the window. 'This isn't my room.' She jumped out of the bed and ran to the window. She gasped at the view in front of her. Her hands rushed to her head and gripped her hair. She groaned while moving away from the window and leaning her back against the wall. Slowly, but assuredly, everything from the night before came to her mind. Her hand ghosted over her lips as she recalled the impromptu kiss. "Oh no." She moaned. Chloe slid down to the carpet. "What have I done? Everything's going to change." She then gasped as another realization hit her. "Everyone is going to hate me. Lana, well Lana doesn't really matter. But Lois, she's my cousin. She can't stay mad at me forever." Chloe tried to convince herself then she let out a sudden groan. "But she'll tell Dad." Chloe picked herself up off the floor. She looked outside the window once again. "Oliver and the boys, they'll never understand. They'll think I've switched sides, and Clark. Oh Clark. This will be the ultimate betrayal in his eyes." Chloe's eyes grew teary. "He'll never forgive me." She whispered to herself.

Chloe wiped at her eyes angrily. She walked over to her door and yanked it open, startling the young girl in the hall. "Where is Mr. Luthor?" Chloe asked the maid.

"Mr. Luthor is having breakfast in the dining room." She answered quietly.

"Show me the way." Chloe ordered. She hated being rude, but right now she was on a mission; Find Lex.

"Yes ma'am." The girl said and walked down the hall, with Chloe following.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lex sat at the head of his table. He was currently sipping his coffee and reading the business pages of his paper. He paid no mind to the servants who were placing food on the table as he set his coffee back down. However, what did manage to catch his attention was the door being abruptly slammed open. Lex looked to the doorway. He raised a brow questioningly at the sight before him.

Chloe stood, glaring at Lex. "We need to talk." She stated in a voice that held little room for argument.

Lex took that moment to study her appearance. Chloe's chest was heaving up and down, due to the fact that she was trying to contain her anger. Her clothes were a bit rumpled. Her hair was in complete disarray; partially in her face and all over her shoulders. She clearly just got out of bed. She looked as fierce as a lioness. Lex silently hoped she wasn't as untamable as one as well. Folding his paper and setting it onto the table, Lex dismissed his servants. He gestured to the place setting to his right. "Care to join me?"

Chloe frowned once she was left alone with Lex. She walked further into the room, hearing the door close behind her, but she did not take him up on his offer. "No, I do not care to join you. What I do care to do is to go back home. What about all of my things Lex?" Chloe asked from across the table with her arms folded over her chest.

"Don't worry yourself about such things Chloe. It is all taken care of." He responded while attending to his food.

Chloe did not like that answer. She walked up to him and removed his plate from his reach. It was a little childish, she knew, but who cares. "Where are my things Lex?" Chloe asked, no, demanded to know.

Lex tilted his head to look her in the eyes from his seated position. "Isn't this a bit juvenile for you Chloe? As I have already stated, your belongings are safe and accounted for. Your furniture has been placed into storage. And your smaller and more manageable possessions as well as your clothes will be here at the penthouse upon your return."

Chloe began to argue some more, but paused. "My return?" She asked, in confusion.

"Yes, your return. I have decided that you are to start work today. We are first going to LuthorCorp; some business I must handle there. Then we will be going to the Daily Planet; mainly so that Lois and hopefully Clark will see your new position." Lex told Chloe. "Under me." He smirks. He then notices her face pale and used that to his advantage as he grabbed his plate. "I suggest you sit down and have a bite to eat. Something tells me that this is going to be a very interesting day for you." He unfolds his paper and continues where he left off. "And Lord knows you could stand to gain a few." He quietly mumbled to himself.

"And whose fault is that?" She snapped at him. Chloe was upset. Okay, she was pissed. But there was really little she could do. All the cards were in Lex's hands. 'For the now.' She thought to herself. She takes the seat he offered her earlier and proceeds to fill her cup with coffee. Taking a sip, Chloe calms herself as the liquid glides down her throat. She closes her eyes in an attempt to block out Lex's presence. She knew that this would be her only peaceful moment for the rest of the day.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Good morning Mr. Luthor." Greeted the receptionist in front of Lex's office. She made to say more, but hesitated once she noticed Chloe's presence. Her previous smile slightly fell.

"Good morning Julie." Lex smiled at his secretary. He took note of her expression and chose to ease her confusion. "This is Miss Sullivan. She will be my personal assistant from now on; as I am sure you've read in the memo I had sent out."

Julie's face changed to recognition. "Yes, of course. How are you today, Miss Sullivan?"

Chloe smiled at Julie. 'Tall. Busty. Brunette. Typical.' "I'm fine. Thank you for asking." Chloe responded not bothering to ask Julie how she was doing.

Julie took in Chloe's appearance. Chloe wore grey dress pants with a matching short vest. With it, she wore white short sleeved collared shirt. She had her blonde hair pulled back into a bun. 'Short and blonde.' Julie smirked. 'No competition there.' She grinned at Chloe, as though she had a secret. "Can I get you anything Miss Sullivan? How about you Mr. Luthor?"

"No." Was Chloe's curt reply.

Lex glanced at Chloe, then back to Julie. "No thank you Julie. I will be speaking to Miss Sullivan of her duties. Hold my calls until I am finished." Lex then turned and walked through the doors of his new office. Chloe followed him.

--

Once inside the office, Chloe's eyes were immediately drawn to the newly repaired window; and then to the spot in front of it. 'Lionel's last moments were spent here.' She thought to herself as she felt a chill slide down her spine. She nearly jumped at the sound of the door closing. She hadn't realized she stopped walking until Lex passed her by to get to his desk. Eyeing her strangely, Lex offered her a seat. Chloe took it. Now that they were in this office and alone, Chloe recognized the danger she was truly in. This isn't the same Lex who protected her from his father all those years ago. No, no, this was a man she hardly knew. A man who would do anything to get what he wanted. A man who was not afraid to carry out any threats he set. Chloe felt ill, all this time she treated him as though he was still her Lex. But he wasn't, he isn't, not anymore. For the first time in Lex's presence, Chloe was afraid of who he had become. And with that thought, she forced herself to look into Lex's eyes. The eyes of a murderer.

A/N: I hope you liked the chapter. This chapter feels like a filler.

But don't worry, next chapter will be better, maybe some verbal sparring.

As always... PLEASE REVIEW!!


	10. Chapter Nine: Humanitarian? What?

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

A/N: First and foremost... **MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!! **WOOHOO!!!!!!!! oK, sorry for the delay. School has pretty much taken all of my time, but with the break and all, I felt it was high time I updated. I finished this chapter last night. I hope you guys enjoy. This is your Christmas present from me to you. Happy Holidays! :-P

-

**Chapter Nine: Humanitarian? What?**

"Chloe, you look a little pale. Are you sure you wouldn't like something to drink? A glass of water perhaps?" Lex offered her; no expression on his face.

Chloe pushed her thoughts aside. "I'm fine Lex." She glanced once more at the infamous window. She then turned her attention back to the stranger before her. "Or should I say Mr. Luthor, seeing how this is more appropriate in a business setting."

"Mr. Luthor is fine, but please, just Lex, when we're alone." He told her. Lex had to suppress a grin when he noticed the visible tremble Chloe had when he said 'alone.' "Chloe you are now my personal assistant. Should I explain what it entails to be the personal assistant to a Luthor?"

Chloe had an idea, but chose not to say anything. "Please continue."

"Not only do I expect your assistance here at Luthorcorp or the Daily Planet, but also in my personal affairs however I see fit; hence the 'personal' in personal assistant." Lex was being vague, and he knew it. This time he did smirk at the look on Chloe's face. It was obvious she was trying to contain her anger.

Chloe took a deep breath to calm herself. "Lex, I'm sure you didn't have your 'secretary' hold all of your calls to tell me that." She finished with clenched teeth.

Lex's smirk widened at the way that Chloe had said 'secretary' with such disdain. "What do you have against Julie?"

Chloe was taken aback at the question. "I don't have anything against your 'run of the mill' brunette. What does she have to do with anything? Stay on topic Lex."

"Such hostility Miss Sullivan, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous." Lex could have patted himself on the back for the response he got from Chloe with that comment.

Chloe's face took on a pinkish hue. She rose out of her chair and stood directly in front of Lex's desk. "And I'd say that you were delusional, but we both know that it's rather a moot point, now isn't it."

Lex gracefully rose from his seat and stared Chloe down. Although he was taller than her, she was not intimidated. Could have also been the desk in between them, but who's paying attention? "Miss Sullivan, please control yourself. You are being quite irrational."

"Please, as though you're the poster child for rationality." Chloe took a deep breath, mentally counting to ten. Unfortunately, she only made it to three. "Listen to me you psychotic apparition of Satan. I am not, nor will I ever be jealous of whatever fool you have contemporarily set your sights upon. To be quite frank, I couldn't be bothered with such emotions. If anything, I'd feel sorry for the poor dupe. Let's not forget the only reason I am here is because of blackmail. Yes, blackmail in its purest of qualities. Because the truth is, I wouldn't be caught dead anywhere near you." She finished heatedly.

Lex did not miss a beat. "That could be arranged." He said seething. But surprisingly, instead of fear in her eyes, as expected, he was accosted with a bout of laughter.

Chloe smiled, though it never reached her eyes. "Oh of that I am all too aware. Nevertheless, you won't do something so stupid. It's obvious you have plans for me. And I am certain those plans don't involve my death; at least, not in the near future." She then sat back down in her seat. Chloe crossed her legs. "Now, 'Lex'" she spit his name out as though it disgusted her; and at the moment, it kind of did. "I think it's high time you cut the bullshit and tell me exactly what it is that you want from me."

Lex stared at Chloe, irritated and slightly impressed. After he got over the initial anger, he became amused. He smirked inwardly, because he knew better than to set her off again by showing it on his face. "Well then," he began as he sat back into his chair, "let's first talk about your duties while at LutherCorp." He pulled a few files from a drawer in his desk. He tossed them onto his desk in front of her.

Chloe grabbed the files and started to look them over. Her face frowned in confusion. "Case studies…? Expansion design…? What is this Lex?"

"What does it look like Chloe?" Lex asked, leaning back in his chair.

Chloe looked up and met grey eyes. "It looks like components for a corporate expansion. What I don't understand is what you want me to do with this"

Lex smirked. "I want you to draw me up a proposal for this expansion design process."

Chloe just looked at Lex with wide eyes. She looked back down at the files in her hands. She began shaking her head from side to side. "No, no there's no way I could do this. I'm an investigative reporter Lex." She met his eyes once more. "Not some corporate industrialist."

"You underestimate yourself Chloe. You're a smart woman. Too smart for your own good at times. I'm sure there are many things you could do if you set your mind to it. Just, instead of using it to work against me, I want you to use it to work with me." He smiled at her.

Chloe was momentarily stunned by his smile. His compliment did not escape her. She could almost see her Lex peeking through. With that thought, she felt a smile tug on the side of her lips. She fought it down with a frown as reality hit her and her heart broke all over again. "No Lex, I think you overestimate me. What do I know about expansion? Why are you expanding anyway? What are you up to?" She eyed him suspiciously. This of course caused Lex to laugh out loud. 'Stop it!' Chloe internally reprimanded her stomach as butterflies filled it.

"Chloe, must I be up to something. Maybe I just want to do my part as a humanitarian." He finished with a smile on his face.

Chloe raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, and I'm the Queen of Sheba." She rolled her eyes. "You could at least pretend to take this seriously."

"I am. It's all right there in the file I've given you." Lex's face was stern. He didn't like the implication of being called a liar.

Chloe looked at him dubiously. She glanced down at the files in her hands and flipped through a few of them. 'Well I'll be…' She thought. As Chloe moved from file to file, she found that the expansion of his company is, in fact, a new division responsible for offering material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises. "Lex, this is…"

"The primary objective of this division is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity. It may therefore be distinguished from development aid, which seeks to address the underlying socioeconomic factors which may have led to a crisis or emergency." Lex said. He began looking through the files on his desk.

Chloe looked at him as though he'd grown a second head, or hair for that matter. "What's in it for you? From the look of these reports, you stand to lose more than you'd gain."

"You're right. Expansion involves various critical factors to be considered: risk of market, return from a new set-up, risk estimation, opportunity cost, expansion revision analysis, resource availability, dominant market study, are few are a few amongst others." He stated calmly.

"Then why do this?" Chloe asked. 'Come on Lex, show me your hand.'

"To quantify the expansion benefits is a very complex process as analysis involves various intangible variables like brand-value, employment generation, forward and backward integration, bringing competition to the market, etc. However, no matter the cost, I feel that after everything my father has done, it's high time the Luthor Corp. did more good than harm. Wouldn't you agree Chloe?" Lex gazed into Chloe's eyes, as if he was trying to read her soul.

Chloe sat puzzled by his explanation. It wasn't that it was hard picturing Lex doing something good for once. No, that was not it. It was picturing this Lex doing something good. This evil Lex doing all the things that HER Lex always dreamed of doing. And this upset Chloe. 'How dare he? How dare this monster try and justify the evil he's done?' Chloe placed the files she had been holding onto the edge of his desk. "No."

Lex was surprised at her reaction. "No?"

"No." She repeated softly and looked into his eyes.

Lex was taken aback at the fire he saw there. "Chloe-"

"You think you can erase what this damn company has done. Just wipe the slate clean?"

Lex did not like the tone her voice took on. "Of course not. This has nothing to do with the past. I can't change the past anymore than you can. I'm just trying for a better future." His eyes were pleading for Chloe to understand. He wanted to help others at a cost to himself. He wanted her to oversee the project.

'He trusts you that much Chloe.' And once again she could see her Lex trapped behind those icy depths. Chloe shook her head to fight the tears she knew would come if she continued down that line of thought. 'That man is not the man you loved. He is a monster Chloe, and you best remember that.' "No Lex. You are nothing more than a Luthor and I know what you're doing."

Lex's face closed off as he sent a cold glare her way. "Oh you do, do you? Well then, by all means, share."

"Humanitarian? Save lives? Alleviate suffering? Ha! Maybe this would have been the objective of the old you, the Lex I loved. But not the new and certainly not improved you. Lex you forget, I know you. And there is always an underlying purpose for ALL that you do." She raised her chin a bit. "You are nothing more than the creation of your father. And I pity you."

-----

A/N: Ok, I'll admit I sort of lost where I was headed with this in the last couple months due to school. I wasn't even sure how to go about this chapter. Let me know how you liked it because I'm still not sure. But I was determined to get this out to you for Christmas. Spent all last night typing this... at work. I guess I should have been working. LOL. Oh well. You know what to do.

PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. Oh yeah, I was in a bit of a hurry to get this out, so sorry for all the errors I'm sure I've made. Hopefully it won't be too bad.


	11. Chapter Ten: Let's Be Clear

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

**Chapter Ten: Let's Be Clear**

"_You are nothing more than the creation of your father. And I pity you."_

A prompt stillness ensued the room after those words were spoken. The two bodies sat unmoving in the office chairs, glaring holes into the other. To say that Lex was shocked was… well…

"You pity me?" He growled.

Chloe thought that she had seen a look of hurt flash across his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it came. Was it ever there? "That's what I said. Really Lex, do try and keep up."

"Oh, I'm caught up plenty Ms. Sullivan. I am, however, a bit curious as to how you, of all people, can pity anyone." He stated with a calm cool, which contrasted greatly with the heated inferno swarming in his eyes.

Taking the bait, Chloe clenched her fists. "What are you implying?"

"Come now Ms. Sullivan, you may have been Prom Queen, but you aren't exactly 'Prom Queen'. If you get what I'm saying." Lex smirked.

"Oh gee, I don't know Mr. Luthor. With a well encrypted barb like that, how will I ever perceive its meaning?" Chloe smiled as Lex dropped his smirk.

Lex, not one to be made fun of, glowered at Chloe. "You will be working on this project with me whether you like it or not. In fact, you will attend every function related to this at my side."

"What! No!" Chloe looked at him in shock. "Isn't that a position typically reserved for one's significant other, hence your wife?"

Lex smirked. "Perhaps, but it will be so much more entertaining watching you squirm under the light of the cameras. And to be completely honest," here Chloe snorted, "I'm a bit curious as to what the tabloids will have to say about you digging your claws into a married man. Have you no dignity Ms. Sullivan?"

"How dare you, I-"

"And to think that you would do something like that to your best friend Lana. What will Clark think about you now? What will Oliver Queen?"

"You can't do this Lex. I won't be responsible for doing your dirty work to hurt Lana and Clark. I won't… I can't… please Lex I-" She paused. 'Oliver Queen? What does Oliver have to do with anything? Lex can't know about his other half?' She looked Lex dead in the eye. "Why do you mention Oliver? I know you have something against him, but how am I a bargaining chip between the two of you? What does it matter how Oliver sees me?"

Lex looked Chloe in the eyes. "It does not matter to me. However, I know it matters plenty to you, Chloe." Chloe began to protest but Lex interrupted her. "Do not insult my intelligence. Do you think I hadn't noticed the two of you flirting at the Kent's home after your return? Or about my running into you and Mr. Queen the other day? Did Lana and I interrupt something happening between you two? Is there something happening between you two? Or is it just wishful thinking on your part?" Lex stared at Chloe's shocked expression.

Chloe didn't know what to say. "I… I…"

Lex smirked. "I never thought I'd see the day that Chloe Sullivan is rendered speechless. And all over a man."

Chloe glared at him. "Oliver and I are friends. Period! And even if we were more, that would be none of your business." She felt her face flush. From anger or embarrassment, she did not know. She noticed the pleased look on Lex's face. "You know Lex, I never knew your insecurities lay so deep. I mean, I can't believe how jealous you are."

Lex frowned. "I assure you Miss Sullivan, I am not-"

"Oh! So now we're back to surnames. Very well, Mr. Luthor, I'll play along." Chloe smirked. "But really, you should get that insecurity level checked." Chloe eyed Lex. "Let's be clear on two things; you will never be Clark, and you will never be Oliver. They're too good for the likes of you." Chloe said bitingly. She noticed a look of hurt flash across Lex's eyes.

At first, Lex was speechless. 'How dare she say that to me?' The part of Clark was expected, but… "Mr. Queen and I have a bit of history of which you are not privy." Lex eyed Chloe coldly. "Furthermore, I suggest, Miss Sullivan, that you keep your nose out of things that do not concern you." He broke eye contact with her, and shuffled through papers on his desk.

The look in Lex's eyes froze Chloe to her seat. Only when he broke contact was she able to breathe again. 'What did he mean by history? What happened?' She looked Lex over, knowing she won't get the answer out of him. She bit her bottom lip. 'Curiosity killed the cat Chlo'.' She shook her head to clear her thoughts. 'I'm not a cat.' She looked back at Lex. He was putting his papers away. "What do you have against Oliver?" Chloe asked, her voice, thankfully, strong and clear.

Lex made not motion showing that he heard her. He just continued putting his things away. Chloe didn't bother repeating her question; she just sat and waited patiently for the answer. Lex slid his desk drawer closed and looked Chloe in the eyes. He showed no emotion. There was no coldness in his gaze and no playfulness from before. Chloe realized she missed the playfulness. This realization shocked her. Who knew there was still a part of Lex that she could miss.

"I want your first proposal on the project on my desk by Friday. You have until the end of the week, so use your time wisely. You will have a project team at your disposal. If you need assistance on anything, then you can ask one of your team members." Lex stated in a crisp business tone. "You will start on this project tomorrow morning. When you come in someone will be here to direct you to your office in your new department, created specifically for this new division." He the stood up. "As for Mr. Queen, he's not the virtuous champion you seem to associate him as being."

Not really sure what to make of this admission of Lex's, Chloe stood up. She noticed how cold he was being towards her. But she could also see that he was a little hurt. By what she said? Does it have to do with his past? Chloe frowned at the thought. "Lex… I-"

"Now Miss Sullivan," Lex abruptly cut her off. "It's time we headed over to the Planet. We can continue the discussion of your duties there." He walked to the door with her following. He placed his hand on the door knob and paused. With his back to her, he stated, "Just to be clear, Oliver Queen has nothing that I will ever want." He opened the door and walked out, expecting Chloe to follow. She did.

They passed Julie's desk and headed straight for the elevator. Lex got in and Chloe after. Lex closed his eyes as he let out a sigh; _Queen has nothing I want_, 'except for one blonde inquisitive reporter.' He thought to himself as the doors slid shut.


	12. Chapter 11: Stepford Assistant Syndrome?

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

**Chapter Eleven: Stepford **_**'Assistant'**_** Syndrome?**

The hustle and bustle of the Planet was more chaotic than usual, but that was the least of her worries. Chloe had to endure the countless glares, frowns, and stares of curiosity, as she followed Lex into the bull pin. Her eyes briefly slid over to where her old desk was. She noticed her cousin's remained empty. Letting out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding, Chloe thanked God for small miracles.

Unfortunately, Lex took notice of this. "Don't worry Ms. Sullivan, you'll get to talk to your cousin in all due time. I called ahead of time and arranged for Ms. Lane to meet me in my office; supervised, of course."

Chloe suddenly halted in her step. 'He WHAT!' "Lex, please tell me, you're joking." She stated with wide eyes.

Lex stopped walking and turned to face her. "Afraid not, Ms. Sullivan. I thought perhaps that you'd be pleased. Could it be that I was wrong in my assumption?" He asked with a smirk.

Chloe glared at him. 'Oh what she wouldn't give to wipe that smirk clear off of his face.' She clenched and unclenched her fists. "You son of a-"

"Ah, ah, ah, Ms. Sullivan, please watch that tongue of yours, as lithe as it is. We are, after all, in the workplace." He said. Chloe blushed as he casually walked closer to her. Then in a whisper only she could hear. "We wouldn't want to cause a scene in a room full of reporters, now would we? Think of the headlines, LOVER'S TIFF IN THE DAILY PLANET'S BULL PIN."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Who in their right mind would think that we were lovers?"

"Any fresh young reporter still wet behind the ears, eager to get their name in print." Lex stated in a relaxed manner. He turned and headed to his office.

Chloe grudgingly followed, knowing that what he said had merit. Then something occurred to her. Something he stated only moments ago. Lex reached for the door knob to his office, only to pause at the sound of Chloe's voice. "For the record Lex, I do not appreciate your little connotation. So I advise you to keep my _tongue_ out of your mind." She glared into his ice blue eyes.

Lex merely raised a brow. His eyes moved over her mouth and back to her blazing emeralds. He smirked, "Duly noted." He grasped the office doorknob and thrust it open. "After you."

Frowning, Chloe walked into the office. There were two others awaiting her. One, a stiff employee she had never seen before, and the other, her very own big cousin. "Hi Lois."

"Chloe!" Lois hopped out of her seat and rushed to her cousin's side. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

"I-" Chloe started, but halted after she noticed Lois's eyes shift to look behind her. She faintly her a door shut and realized Lex had just entered into the room.

"Lex, why did you call me here? And why is Chloe here?" Lois asked, but then gasped and looked at Chloe. "Are you getting your job back? You should, the ass had no right to fire you in the first place." She smiled at Chloe, but then glared at Lex. "There had better not be any strings attached Luthor."

Lex walked further into his office and sat behind his desk. He motioned for the quiet man in the corner of the room to leave. Once he was gone, Lex looked Lois in the eye. "Ah, Ms. Lane, your glare is as enchanting as ever. Would you please have a seat? Chloe?" He motioned to the two chairs in front of his desk.

"Not until you answer my questions." Lois stated difficultly. She then glanced at her surprisingly quiet cousin. "Chlo', is everything alright?"

Lex smirked, "Yes 'Chlo'', is everything alright?"

Chloe glared at him. "I'm fine Lois. Just surprised to see you here is all."

"You're surprised. I'm completely flabbergasted to see you here!" Lois exclaimed.

This caused Chloe to laugh, "Flabbergasted Lo', have you been using that vocabulary calendar I gave you?" She grinned at Lois.

Lois smiled at her little cousin. "I sure have. I can't go around sounding like Clark, now can I?" The two had a quick laugh at the farm boy's expense.

Lex looked at Chloe's face and enjoyed the happiness he saw there. He was almost remorseful to take it away; almost. He cleared his throat, grabbing the attention of the ladies who seemingly had forgotten his presence. "Now that I have your undivided attention, let's get down to the matter at hand, shall we."

"What is the matter at hand, Luthor?" Lois asked, still not understanding why Chloe and she were here to begin with.

"Well, 'Lane,' you wanted to know why Chloe was here. You were partially right. Chloe will be returning to the Daily Planet. Before you get too excited, let me continue. Chloe will be returning to the Daily Planet, but not as a reporter. She will be my personal assistant. In fact, she technically won't be in the employ of the Daily Planet, but that of Lex Luthor." Lex finished. He watched silently as a look of disbelief appeared on Lois's face. It quickly morphed into confusion as she turned to the blonde beside her.

"Chloe… why… This isn't like you. I know he saved you and all. And we are all grateful for that, but you don't have to do this if you don't want to. Is he blackmailing you with something?" Lois asked trying to understand. "You can tell me."

"I assure, nothing like that has occurred. Chloe, tell her." Lex stated smirking.

Chloe glared at him, and then looked at Lois. "Lois this was my decision. I think it's a great opportunity."

"For what? Chloe, your dream, your aspirations have always been to be a reporter. You were so adamant about it that eventually I felt as though it were my dream as well. You inspire me. You're great at what you do. I don't believe for a second that you would ever want to be a personal assistant; especially not to Lex Luthor." Lois argued, trying to find a loop hole.

"No Lois. I always thought reporting was for me, but through all of that investigative reporting, I've learned that I have many other talents." Chloe reassured Lois with her poker face.

"Other talents?" Lois turned from her cousin to Lex. "You're behind all of this, I know it. Did you really think I could be fooled. Chloe's my baby cousin. I've known her since infancy. Besides who in their right mind would consider being your personal secretary over their own personal dreams." Lois jumped up out of her seat. She looked as though she were going to attack Lex.

Chloe was quiet during Lois's tirade. She was happy that her cousin knew her so well. But at the same time, it will only make everything worse if she didn't get Lois to believe her. Once Lois hopped out of her chair, Chloe knew it was… 'Show time.'

Lois turned to Chloe. "Come on Chloe, let's go."

"No Lois." Chloe stood out of her chair beside Lois.

"No?"

"I can't go with you. I have a job to do here. And so do you." Chloe explained.

Lois was astonished. "Chloe, you can't be serious! I don't know what kind of pull he has on you, but I won't let him ensnare you like he did his little Stepford wife. Not that I don't care about Lana, but you're my cousin, she's not. Now let's get out of here." Lois finished decisively, grabbing a hold of Chloe's arm.

What Lois just said, meant a lot to Chloe. And she hated the fact that now she will have to cut into her own loving cousin. Chloe dramatically ripped her arm from out of Lois's grasp. Lois looked shocked. "Lois if you think you can just tell me what to do then you have another thing coming."

"Chlo' I didn't think, I-" Lois tried to apologize, but was cut off.

"Clearly you never do. I told you this was my decision. He offered, but I accepted all on my own. Why won't you take my word for it? And to compare me to Lana? Really Lois. I'm not a small minded child susceptible to manipulation. And the fact that you seem to think otherwise, speaks bounds of how much you really know me." Chloe said, her voice growing colder by every second. She nearly broke when she saw the look on Lois's face. Clear devastation.

Lois desperately tried to mask the hurt, "Chloe, why… why are you acting like this."

"Why? I don't know. Maybe I'm just tired of being treated like a kid. You may be my big cousin, but I grew up a long time ago. I can make my own decisions." Chloe paused to let the words soak into Lois's brain. "I am Lex's personal assistant now. You had better get use to it." She finished in a hard voice.

Lois looked at Chloe. Just stared at her. Chloe was beginning to feel uncomfortable under Lois's stare. All emotion fell from Lois's face as she began to speak. "You're right Chloe Sullivan, I don't know you. You're standing right in front of me and I don't know who the hell you are. And quite frankly, I don't think I want to." Lois turned a frown to Lex, who had been silent the entire time. "I don't know what you did, but congratulations are in order. She belongs to you now." Lex smirked, which caused Lois to growl. She pushed past Chloe, not sparing her a second glance and walked out of the office slamming the door shut behind her.

Not five seconds went by, when everything began to sink in for Chloe. Her face reflected the horrible realization of what had just occurred. "What have I done?" She whispered aloud, ignoring the presence of the man behind her as she gaped at the door. Fighting back tears, Chloe ran to the door.

Lex hated seeing her so distraught, but it had to be done. "Chloe." He tried to get her attention.

Chloe either didn't hear him or didn't care as she thrust the office door open. She made to exit, but didn't get very far as a figure stood in her way.

"Chloe?!"

She gasped. Could this day get any worse?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


	13. Chapter Twelve: All About Me

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

**Chapter Twelve: What About Me?**

_"Chloe?!"_

"Chloe? I didn't expect to see you here."

"Hi Lana, nice to see you too." Chloe said through clenched teeth, resisting the urge to roll her eyes and push past the brunette in search of her cousin.

Lana looked taken aback for a second by Chloe's tone. "It's great seeing you again so soon Chloe, I just thought you didn't work at the Planet anymore."

Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but the other occupant of the room intervened. "Actually," Lex began as he stepped from behind his desk, moving closer to the two ladies, "Chloe here will be returning to the Planet for some time being."

Lana looked from Lex to Chloe and back again. She smiled. "I think that's a wonderful idea Lex." She walked further into the room to stand by Lex's side. "It's so good of you to give Chloe another chance at reporting."

At this Chloe scoffed. Like hell she was going to stand here and let Lana demean her reporting skills. She closed the door and turned to face the couple. With her fist clenched at her sides, Chloe spoke, "Actually Lana, Lex regrets his earlier hast decision in letting me go so much, that he has asked me to come back to work for him; however, not as a reporter. Lex, why don't you explain to her all the intricate little details of my new _position_ under you." Chloe finished with what she hoped to be an innocent smile, but ended up as a devious grin.

Both ladies looked to Lex as if awaiting his explanation. He just stared back at Chloe with an unreadable expression. Lana thoroughly confused by now decided to speak. "Lex, honey, what is she talking about? If she isn't going to be reporting what will she be doing."

Lex looked into the eyes of the woman he's supposed to love. "Chloe is going to be my personal assistant for awhile." He stated with finality and walked back to his desk. Once he was seated, he noticed that Lana had followed him.

Chloe noticed the pinched look on Lana's face. 'This can't be good.' Chloe thought to herself then glanced at the door. 'I think it's high time I made my escape.' "Um, I'm going to just step out and give you two some time alone." And without waiting for a response, she walked out of the office.

Lex looked at the closed door and then turned to face his… uh… what was she to him again? Uh… Lana… "Did you have something you wanted to talk to me about Lana?"

Lana looked startled for a moment. Why did she come to the Daily Planet? Oh, right. "Well I came to Metropolis to do a little shopping. And I thought since I was in the neighborhood, I'd drop by and see you."

Lex tried not to look annoyed by this. "Well as much as I appreciate the sentiment Lana, I really have a lot of work to do. Hence the need for a personal assistant." He began shuffling through the paperwork on his desk.

Once he finished, Lana chose to have a seat in front of his desk. She furrowed her brows in concern. "Yeah, about that Lex, I don't see why you want Chloe as a personal assistant. Why not just allow her to report again? I know you want to help her because she's my friend, but maybe you should find someone more qualified. And just let her write her little stories for your paper like she enjoys."

Lex just sat there staring at Lana for a moment. Part of him couldn't believe that such words could leave her mouth. Not only is Lana foolish enough to question Chloe's qualifications and belittle her reporting skills, but she is so self-centered that she honestly believes he would do all of this (ulterior motive or no) for her, because Chloe is _her_ friend. Lex cleared off his desk. Once his files were secure he looked Lana in the eye. "Lana," he fought to keep the annoyance out of his voice, "I want to help Chloe because she is _my_ friend. She's helped me when I needed it, and I am more than willing to return the favor." He watched as Lana's face pinched up. However, he continued before she could speak. "As far as her credentials go, Chloe is more than qualified to assist me personally. I've watched her over the years and she's been able to out wit even my father."

"But Lex-" Lana tried to cut in, but Lex staid her with the raise of his palm.

"No Lana, I'm not finished. Chloe has always dreamed of being a reporter. Nonetheless, her potential is far too great and I am not satisfied with placing such limitations on her. In time, she will see the big picture." He finished quite satisfied with the dumbfound look on Lana's face. "Now Lana, you were saying…"

"Lex, I think it's great what you are doing for her, but if you need someone to work closely with you, I am more than happy to help. After all, we made a good team running the Talon, and it brought us so much closer. Perhaps this will bring us even closer." She looked at him with wide eyes and a pleasant smile on her lips.

Lex didn't bother trying to contain the sigh that left his lips, "Lana. I've made my decision and it's final. This is business. I would prefer to keep our personal lives separate."

Lana stood up upset. "Then why Chloe? She's your friend as you say. That's hardly keeping your business and personal life separate. Exactly how personal are planning on getting with her?" Her face was flushed and she wasn't thinking straight.

Lex calmly left his seat, walked from behind his desk, and stood face to face with his girlfriend. "I will advise you to lower your voice. You are in my workplace, which happens to be the Daily Planet. I would prefer that our conversation not be on the front page news tomorrow morning. Furthermore, I will not answer to you on the decisions that I make. How I run my business is no concern of yours."

This brought Lana down a peg or two. "Lex… I…"

"Save it. I don't want to hear it right now." He sighs. "Lana, I don't want to fight with you. I love you. I have a lot of work to do and I'm just no good to you right now. This is why I wanted you to stay in Smallville while I was here. Because when I'm with you, I don't want to have to worry about work." He reached out to touch her shoulder. She flinched a little, but soon relaxed. "I'm sorry I was a bit harsh on you. I would love to spend every second with you. But I don't want our time together tainted by the business world. You understand." He stared at her adoringly.

One look into his eyes and all was forgiven. "Yes Lex, I do. And I'm sorry I questioned your methods. You're the industrialist, not me. I just love you so much." She gave him a hug, while he tried not to roll his eyes. She pulled back. "Okay, I'm going to go finish shopping and then I'll head home."

"Alright, have fun shopping." Lex said, hoping she'd leave soon.

Lana smiled back at him as she reached the door. "I will. See you later." And with that she walked out of the office.

Lex walked back to his seat and slowly sat down. He brought his hand to his face. "What the hell was that?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Woah Chloe, slow down. Where's the fire?"

Chloe looked up from the chest she ran face first into upon leaving Lex's office. "Oh, hey Clark didn't see you there."

Clark's look of surprise turned to complete confusion. "If you're not looking for me, then you must be here for Lois."

Chloe brightened up at Clark's deduction. "Yeah actually I am. Have you seen her?"

Clark resisted smiling at the hopeful look in Chloe's eyes. 'She is so cute.' He scratched the back of his head. "Yeah actually, she just rushed out of here. Must be some story. Anything I can help with?"

Chloe turned to leave, then hesitated at Clark's question, "No Clark, it's something I have to speak to Lois about."

Clark looked a little down. "Oh, okay. But if you need me, you know where to find him."

Chloe smiled, "Of course Clark, thanks." She turned and walked up the stairs leading to the front entrance of the Daily Planet.

Clark went to his desk and started researching his next story.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**AN:** Wow. What a wait. I sure hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. Sorry if I didn't keep Lex or Lana in character. It's hard for me to write Lana because she annoys me. And I don't want my own personal views of her to cloud my judgment of her when writing. Oh well, there will be more Chloe next chapter. If this chapter is really bad, I might re-do it. Just let me know how ya feel.

So as always, please review.


	14. Ch Thirteen: An Emotional Rollercoaster

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

**Chapter Thirteen: An Emotional Rollercoaster**

Upon walking outside, Chloe realized two things. One, it's rush hour. And two, "I'll never find Lois in all of this chaos." Never one to let obstacles get in her way, Chloe started looking around for Lois, constantly shouting her cousin's name. Shifting through the countless people in her way.

"Lois! … Oh, excuse me. … Lois! … Sorry about that. … Lois! … Hey watch the hands buddy! … Lo-"

"Chloe?" A smooth voice called out from behind her.

Chloe turned around at the sound of her name. "Oliver?" Her eyes widened from surprise. "Wha… what are you doing here?" She asked in confusion, but quickly her mouth dropped into a frown. "I mean, what do _you_ want?" She crossed her arms across her chest.

The grin on Oliver's face swiftly fell from the tone of her voice. "Well hello to you too Chloe." He brushed a hand through his hair just as a sigh escaped past his lips. "I saw you walk out of The Planet and, well, you looked like you could use some help."

Chloe let her arms drop to her sides. "Well, everything's under control. I don't need any help from you, so how about you just run along." She turned her face away from him.

Oliver scowled. "You could've fooled me. By the way you were pushing yourself through everyone. Yeah, perfect poster child for complete control."

Her face turned sharply back to face him. "For your information I was looking for Lo-"

"Lois." He finished for her. "Yeah, I was able to pick up that much thank you." He took a step closer to her. "And I could've told you, before you so curtly bit my head off, that I just saw Lois."

This caught Chloe's attention. All animosity depleted from her being as looked to Oliver for answers. "You saw her? Which way did she go?"

Oliver raised a brow. "Calm down Chloe. Yes, I saw Lois. She bumped into me on her way out, quite literally. Apparently she had forgotten about our lunch date."

Chloe slightly flinched at this admission. 'Lunch date?'

"But I didn't ask her too many questions; she seemed in a pretty big hurry to leave. After that, she hailed a cab and took off." Oliver studied the expression on Chloe's face. She looked very disheartened by what he just told. Further, he suspected that whatever was bothering Lois had something to do with the little blonde before him. Watching as her shoulders slumped forward and eyes lost focus, Oliver asked a single question. "Chloe, what happened?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lana closed the door to Lex's office behind her. As she heads to the stairs, she notices a familiar figure hunched over a desk. With a smile, she changes course. "Hello stranger."

Clark turns around to the familiar voice coming from behind him. He's surprised to see his ex-girlfriend beaming down at him. He smiles wide. "Oh, hey Lana. Come to see Lex?"

Lana's smile falters. "Uh, yes, actually I just left his office." She says, and then decides to change the subject. "Working hard I see."

Clark blushes a little at this. "Yeah." He chuckles at the sight of his disorganized desk and brushes a hand through his hair. "Chloe made it look so easy back in school." He starts to place his papers into various piles. "I've been meaning to ask her for some pointers."

Lana resisted the urge to frown at the direction the conversation was going in. 'Why does he keep bringing everyone else up? He hasn't even asked me how I am.' "Well that's all very fascinating Clark." She stated sounding a bit bored, but at the thought of Chloe, her frustration manifested. "But I don't know how Chloe could possibly make room for you now that she'll be assisting Lex."

Clark jerked, practically jumping straight out of his chair. "What?"

Lana smiled innocently at him. "Oh you didn't know. Well I just learned of Chloe's new position." She waited a moment to let it sink in. "Odd though, that you wouldn't know. Being the 'best friend' and all." Clark was silent. It was clear that he was deep in thought. Fully proud of herself, Lana turned to go. "I best be leaving. Busy, busy schedule. Maybe I should get a personal assistant as well. Goodbye Clark." She called as she made her way up the stairs, brushing by one Jimmy Olsen in the process.

"Hi Lana… okay…" Jimmy said after receiving no acknowledgment from Lana. He walked over to Clark's desk. "Hey CK, what's up with Lana?"

Without replying to Jimmy, Clark stood out of his seat and walked away. Leaving a confused Jimmy behind. "Maybe I'm invisible."

"Olsen, quit talking to yourself, it's weird!" Yelled a voice across from him.

"Sorry Matt!" A flushed Jimmy called back, 'Okay, definitely not invisible.'

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Chloe, what happened?"

Chloe's eyes filled with unshed tears. Subconsciously, she took a step forward grabbing onto the front of Oliver's shirt. She looked into his eyes, not really seeing him. "I, I did something… and now… now Lois hates me."

Oliver's face softened. He wrapped his arms around her, completely ignoring the intruding eyes surrounding them. "Chloe," he began softly, "I'm sure Lois doesn't hate you."

Chloe ripped herself from his embrace. "You don't know that! You didn't hear-!" She took a deep breath to calm herself. "You didn't hear what I said."

Oliver looked at Chloe. He wanted so badly to comfort her, but didn't know where to begin. "Chloe-"

"Don't." She held up a hand. "This does not concern you. Just… just leave it, okay Ollie?" She finished, then headed back to the doors of The Daily Planet.

Oliver felt a little put off that she was closing herself to him. But felt lighter at her use of his nickname. She's been so upset with him since the failed lunch they had. 'What went wrong?' He thought to himself, and then ran to catch up to her before she reached the news building.

Chloe felt a tug on her arm before rapidly coming face to face with Oliver. She frowned, "I don't want to talk about it."

It was Oliver's turn to hold up, not one, but two hands, in surrender. "And I completely respect your privacy on that matter. However, my concern now reflects that of which happened on our little luncheon yesterday."

Chloe's eyes widened a bit and her cheeks lightly colored. "I don't want to talk about that either."

Oliver held back a sigh. "Chloe, just tell me what I did wrong." She just glared at him. "Okay, okay, I know I'm a jerk. And what I said wasn't entirely how I felt." Noticing that her glare lessened and that he had her undivided attention Oliver continued. "It's just, I was so frustrated. I went months not knowing where you were or if you were okay. And then you suddenly come back. And, and then I can't get in touch with you because you're suddenly avoiding me, and… (sigh) I care about you Chloe. A lot. Not Watchtower, not Sidekick, just you, Chloe Sullivan. Yes, you are a major asset to the team. But I'm sorry for making you feel like that was the only reason we…, _I_, missed you."

Chloe felt her heart swell as she closed her eyes. 'Too much. This is too much. I can't handle this emotional rollercoaster right now. First Lois, now this.' She opened her eyes, gazing into his warm brown ones. "Olli-… Oliver… I, we. (sigh) Just not right now. I have a lot I have to weigh in and I'm just…" She trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Oliver tried and failed to hide his hurt and disappointment. "It's okay Chloe. I understand. Too much to deal with right now. What with Lois and being back and all." He took a step back to give her room. He grinned. "I'm just glad we could clear up the misunderstanding. So no more dodging me, right?"

Oliver's broken grin nearly undid Chloe. 'I'm sorry, but I can't promise that.' She forced herself to smile. "Of course Ollie." She said, lying to his face. She noticed they were back at The Planet. "Well, I better get back inside. Goodbye Oliver." She walked inside without a single glance back. 'But I can promise to protect you. By any means necessary. Even if that means we can no longer see each other.' With that thought, she walked onto the elevator only to walk back off.

"On second thought," She mumbled thinking of her impending reunion with Lex, "I'd much prefer the stairs."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lana charged up the stairs in desperation to be out of this forsaken building. Due to her lack of awareness to her surroundings, it came as no surprise that she'd run head long into the person coming from around the corner once she had reached the top. "Ow!" They collided heads.

"Seriously? Watch where you're walking next time- LANA?"

Lana looked up at the irritated voice. "Sorry Chloe, I didn't realize… I was just… huh…"

Chloe decided to take pity on the girl. "Just a little disoriented? Yea, a meeting with Lex will do that to a person. Even if you are his love interest." Chloe added with a smirk.

Lana looked at her confused, "Chloe, I-"

Chloe raised up a hand to stop her. "No harm no foul Lana. Just be a bit more careful, it's a little chaotic out there at this time of day." Thinking the conversation over, Chloe turned to walk down the stairs.

Lana's face pinched in irritation. 'She thought I was going to apologize?' She reached out and grabbed Chloe's elbow, sufficiently halting her descent. "Chloe, I wasn't going to apologize. It takes two to collide." Chloe's face showed surprise at Lana's firmness; but quickly turned into a frown as she stared at Lana's hand on her arm. Noticing this Lana quickly let go. "What I wanted to say was, well, I accept that you and Lex will be spending a lot of time together and working quite closely with one another."

"Well I'm happy that you've found _acceptance_ in the matter." Chloe curtly replied before moving to leave again. This time it was Lana's voice that stopped her.

"Lex loves me." Lana voice strong and unyielding. Chloe turned to face her. "He loves me Chloe. I don't know what you were hoping or expecting to come out of this temporary _partnership_, but he doesn't want you."

Chloe was confused as to where this was coming from. "Lana, what are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb Chloe. I know you and Lex have a strange history. I know you two got a little close during the time he was saving you from his father, I know-"

Chloe had enough, "Exactly what do you know Lana? Nothing. He may have been _protecting_ me from Lionel, but I was _saving him_. And if you are so certain of Lex's love for you, then you couldn't possibly have any reason to affirm it to me. I don't have time for your insecurities right now, I have work to do." Chloe was beyond angry with Lana right now. But she refuses to let the little pink princess ruffle her feathers. She's going to be the adult in this conversation.

Lana straightened her back. "I do know something Chloe. I know that you loved Lex back then. And you know what else?" She took a step closer to Chloe with what she thought to be a smirk on her face, but came out making her look a little constipated.

Chloe resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "What Lana, what else do you think you know?" Chloe asked in a bored tone.

This didn't deflate Lana though. "I know that you still do." Lana grinned. "But it doesn't matter, because he loves me."

Not shaken in the slightest Chloe spoke, "Again, if you were so sure of that, then there would be no need for this little heart-to-heart." Chloe turned to leave once more, but was stopped this time by herself as she turned to face Lana once more. "Although, I must admit that it is strange."

Lana crossed her arms over her chest. "What is?"

"That all you seem to chant is how 'Lex loves you', but not once did I hear you proclaim the same affection for him. Just a thought." And with that, Chloe finally made her escape to the lion's den below, leaving a stunned Lana behind.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

There was a rough knock at the door. "Come in." The silky voice invited.

The door opened to reveal a fuming young reporter. "Lex. We have to talk."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**AN:** Whoo! Bet you didn't expect a new chap so soon. I'm really looking forward to the next chapter. Clark/Lex confrontation. Nice! I've already started writing it. I couldn't help myself.

Seriously though, what am I doing with Lana's character. I had no real plan for her really, but I'm beginning to take an interest in where the story is taking her. I swear it has a life of it's own. I'm sensing some character growth in the future. Maybe. Depends if she holds my attention long enough. She's not that fun to write about.

Hope you enjoyed the Chlollie experience. Those two are messed up. But only because Chloe still has some extra baggage. If she ever really gets over Lex then maybe she can really get down with Ollie.

Clark is getting all protective in the next chapter. But I'm sure you've already guessed it.

I'm considering allowing Pete to come into the story, but probably not until the end. What do you guys think about that?

Okay, as always…. **PLEASE REVIEW!** I need help in staying excited and motivated.

**WHOOOOOOOO!**

Can ya feel the excitement.

**LOL**


	15. Chapter Fourteen: Agree To Disagree

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

**Chapter Fourteen: Agree to Disagree**

"_Lex. We have to talk."_

Clark stood in the doorway to Lex's office unyielding. Lex felt the urge to roll his eyes, but resisted it just the same. "Really? And yet you didn't barge in as usual. To what do I owe such pleasantries?"

Clark stepped into the office and slammed the door shut. "We have to talk." He insisted once more.

Lex stared at Clark impassively. "Yes. I heard you the first time." He replied as he closed his laptop to give Clark his undivided attention. "So, what highly immoral thing have I done now?"

"What do you want with Chloe?" Clark asked short to the point.

"She told you." Lex stated. Clark briefly looked startled, but calmed his features. Unfortunately for him, Lex noticed the slip. "Ah, I see. She hasn't told you, has she?" He casually leaned back in his chair eyeing Clark quizzically. "It would seem that our dear Lana has been quite the little busybody. However, I'm not surprised. After all, good news does travel fast." He finished with a smirk.

This, of course, enraged Clark. "She's not working for you Lex. Haven't you put her through enough? I won't allow you to-"

"I believe she is a big girl and can speak for herself. I offered her the job and she accepted. No strings attached." Lex interrupted.

Clark walked further into the room to stand in front of Lex's desk. "Everything that you offer has strings Lex. And they are always connected to you."

Lex sensing this was going to be a dreadful confrontation, stood from his chair. "Clark. I know you don't want to believe it, but I care about Chloe." He moved from behind his desk to stand a bit closer to Clark, but not by much.

Clark's eyes narrowed at this admission. "I don't believe you. The things you've done do not reflect care." Clark shook his head desperately trying to contain his anger. "Why are you always after those I care about?"

"Why do you automatically assume that any action I take is against you? Why is it that everything that I do must revolve around you?" Lex took a step forward. "Clark here's the hard truth." He paused for a moment, glaring into Clark's eyes. "You're not that special."

Clark's eyes widened then narrowed. "I never said I was." He clenched his fists. "But it's clear to me that you're only after Chloe because of me. Just like with Lana, you plan to turn her against me."

Lex couldn't believe the extent of Clark's narcissism. Scratch that, yes he could. This was, after all, Clark he was dealing with. Lex walked over to the other side of his office where he kept a low stock of alcoholic drinks. Equipping himself with a short glass of brandy, he knocked it back in one full gulp, relishing the burning sensation sliding down his esophagus. After placing the glass back down, he turned back to Clark. "It's no wonder you and Lana never worked out."

Clark shifted his head to the side. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

"You were both so self-absorbed you could never see the other for what they were worth." Lex answered matter-of-factly.

This angered Clark. "If that's how you view the both of us, it's a wonder why you're with Lana now."

"I agree." Lex unintentionally let slip.

Clark's eyes widened in surprise. "What Lex, are you bored with her already? This just proves what I said earlier. You only go after them because of me. To hurt me."

"I do care for her." Was his quiet response.

"What?"

"Chloe. She's my friend. And I care very much for her." Lex reiterated.

Clark noticed the seriousness of the situation. 'He honestly believes his feelings are genuine.' Clark shook his head. He noticed that Lex seemed to have left out Lana, the woman he claimed to love. So far he's shown anything but. 'So how can I believe anything he says about Chloe. No, I won't let him drag her down with them.' "No you don't. You're incapable of caring for anyone but yourself. Lana may be lost to you, but I'd be damned if I let you sink your hooks into Chloe." Clark spoke with a force Lex had never seen. Not even when he first confronted Lex about Lana.

Lex was temporarily stunned. And that's when it dawned on him. 'Why didn't I see it before?' Suddenly everything made sense. "You love her." He stated before he could stop himself.

This caught Clark off guard. "What?"

"Chloe. You love her." Lex repeated with no malice behind his words. "All of these years, you've been hiding her. Keeping her from everyone. And you call me selfish."

Now Clark was just confused. "What are you talking about Lex?"

"Lana was a cover. You were always closer to Chloe. Kept her at a distance so others wouldn't see it. But at the same time, keeping her for yourself." Lex eyes lost focus as he was lost in thought.

"She's my best friend Lex. The closeness is kind of a requirement." Clark stated, still not understanding where this was going.

Lex let the barb slide. "You don't even see it do you?"

Clark was getting frustrated. "What are you talking about Lex?"

Lex smirked. "All these years with you fawning over Lana, she wasn't the girl, excuse me, woman who held your heart." He turned to walk back to his desk. "Chloe, who accepted you for who you are. Chloe, who loved you, no strings attached. Chloe, who kept all of your secrets, and never asking for anything in return. Chloe, who stood by your side, loyal to a fault. Even when you hurt her over and over again, flaunting Lana whenever you could." He sat down in his chair.

'Hurt her?' Clark looked vulnerable as Lex continued. "Lex… I-"

Lex held up a hand. "You took her for granted. Thinking she would always be there. And now that you know that she could be taken from you so easily, you don't know what to do." Lex smirked. "Chloe is your Achilles heel. And you've done an excellent job keeping that fact concealed. That is, until now."

The smirk on Lex's face irked Clark. 'How dare he?' "And you expect me to believe you're not using her, my alleged Achilles heel?" He stomped over to the desk, Lex so languidly sat behind. He slammed his fist down on top of it as he leaned forward toward Lex. "Stop this right now Lex! She will not be a pawn in your little games!"

Lex scoffed, "Of course not. You and I both know that she has always been your _Queen_." He bit out with a hint of jealousy.

Clark froze. He calmly rose to his full height. Arguing with Lex was getting him nowhere. Lex had something up his sleeve, he just knew it. 'I won't let him hurt her. And I won't let him have her.' Clark knew that if he couldn't get through to Lex, then he'd have to try to make Chloe see reason. "I'll find out whatever you're planning Lex. And I will stop you." He said with a vigor that did nothing to intimidate Lex. Clark turned to exit the office.

Lex knew with Chloe busy tending to his needs, she'll have no time to assist the Boy Scout in any investigating. And let's be honest, without Chloe, Clark's skills in that department are useless. "By all means, please do try. I haven't had a good laugh in years." He enjoyed watching Clark's shoulders stiffen, before he hastily walked out of the office.

The smirk fell from Lex's face as he leaned back in his chair. 'Yes Clark she is your _Queen,_ and very soon I will have you _in_ _Check_.' At that thought, he reopened his laptop and continued working.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Chloe reached the basement, but before reaching Lex's office, she ran into Jimmy. "Hey Jimmy." She greeted him with her mega watt smile.

Jimmy looked relieved, "Finally someone acknowledges my presence!" He exclaimed.

"What?" Chloe's smile faltered.

Jimmy noticed the confusion written all over Chloe's face. "Oh, sorry Chloe. Just one of those days." He grinned at her, knowing she'd understand.

Chloe's smile turned into a small grin. "Yeah, I know how that goes."

"So what are you doing here?" Jimmy asked before panicking. "Not that you shouldn't be here or that I don't want you here. Or that… uh… I just… uh… What I meant was…"

Chloe placed a calming hand on his shoulder and laughed slightly. "Are you okay Jimmy? You seem a bit jumpy."

"Jumpy? Me?" He let out a huge sigh, "Sorry. I'm just a little riled up. I've got a deadline to make and haven't had a chance to slow down. So I've been filling up on coffee."

Chloe's eyes widened. "But you don't drink coffee."

"True, but it seemed to always calm you when you had a deadline to make." Jimmy stated, oblivious to his twitching.

"Jimmy!" Chloe pulled him over to have a seat at a nearby desk. She sat him in it while choosing the desktop for herself. "I am a veteran when it comes to caffeine fixes. How many have you had?"

Jimmy thought for a moment, and then shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly can't remember."

Chloe let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay. No more caffeine for you. Just water. You will need to hurry and go on home, so you'll have to get an extension on that deadline. You are more than likely going to crash. And being your first time, crash hard."

He nodded his head. "You're right. What was I thinking? I'll just have to get an early start tomorrow on getting those photos for Mr. Luther." He quickly stood up. "Well, I need to take care of a few things. Then I'll head home. See ya later Chloe." He called over his shoulder.

'Photos?' Chloe jumped off the desk. "Jimmy wait?" But it was no use, as he already left the basement. 'What photos could he have been talking about?' She pondered to herself as she slowly sank into the chair Jimmy previously vacated. Only then did she notice the name plate. _Clark Kent._

_**BAM!**_

Chloe jumped at the sound of a door slam. She looked up, surprised to see her best friend depart from Lex's evil lair, heading to his working space. Which she currently inhabited. 'Oh no, that couldn't have been good.' She thought as she glanced back at Lex's office door. She stood up to greet her friend. "Hi Clark." She smiled.

Clark faltered in his step. He didn't notice her waiting at his work station, so consumed in his thoughts. Staring at her, he let out a breath, "Chloe." And then his heart literally dropped.

**A/N: There you have it. Another smoking revelation. How will Clark cope now that he has realized his true affections for Chloe? I love how he's surprised by it though. How does Lex plan on dealing with Lana? What will Oliver do once he finds out that Chloe is working for Lex? Will Lois forgive her cousin? Will Lana grow some depth? Find out next time on Lying Snake. Same time. Same channel. LOL.**

**I can't believe I'm squeezing in some Chlark. Isn't it bad enough that I've got two sexy guys vying for Chloe's attention. Now I'm setting poor Clark up for failure. She can only choose one, or none, whatever Chloe wants, Chloe gets. What is wrong with me? :-P**

**But anywho, I so hope you guys enjoyed that. I really do hope you liked the confrontation. What is Lex planning? I'm not so sure I remember myself.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**And a Special Thanks for Reviewing to:**

**Lovethechruce: **What is the bigpicture? Whatever it was, I feel that Lex is shifting from it whether he realizes it or not. I think that when it all started, he was pretty sure he was over Chloe. But now that he has her in such close company, he can't help how he feels. He's slowly realizing he loves her. Sure at first it's all lust and control with him, because he really doesn't know better. He has become the villain and he's perfectly happy with that. But there's just something about Chloe that makes him want to be a better man. Aww man, I should have named this 'Something About Chloe'. Oh well.

**Chloe Gilmore: **I'm glad you enjoyed this. And Lana is a mess isn't she. But we must remember that it's only partly her fault. After all, it's CW that wants her to remain a 1-dimentional character. Shame on them. When she went to Paris, she should have stayed there.

**Vamp1987: **I hope youenjoyed the Clark/Lex altercation. I'd rather not disappoint. Lois could never stay mad at Chloe, especially since she just got back after being missing for so long. I think Lois just needs her space right now. Or maybe, just maybe she's laying low because she'll be doing her own little investigation on Lex and find out his hold on her cousin. It will be weird writing her with investigational skills that her character on the show does not have, but I might be up to the challenge. As long as it doesn't interfere with my Chlex plot. I'll think about it.

**b4 Dawn 101: **Sorry, I accidentally updated ch. 13 twice. Don't ask how? It was a weird moment for me. But after noticing your disappointment, I hurriedly completed ch. 14. From your review: _"There was that one line that stood out to me and made me laugh: "Lex looked at the closed door and then turned to face his… uh… what was she to him again? Uh…""_ Glad you enjoyed that. The truth is, while writing this chapter, I kinda forgot what she was to him. Girlfriend, fiancé, wife? I couldn't remember and at the time I was too lazy to go back through my chapters to check. She's just that insignificant to me. I only brought her back into the story on a whim. Plus I knew it would annoy Lex. And annoying Lex usually make Chloe happy.

**Petrafan77: **Chlex and Chlollie are great. In fact, at the beginning I tried so hard to ignore any possibilities of Chlollie on the show, because I just knew CW was not gonna give us that. Even with the little hints. Because let's face it, Chlex had plenty of hints and the fans still went home empty handed. I can't express the glee I feel at the fact that they did indeed embrace Chlollie. Oliver with Chloe is so much better than Oliver with Lois. With Lois, it was clearly about sex, which is why I was confused when he all of a sudden told her he loved her when she was sneaking around with Clark. He never seemed like he was in lover with her. Maybe it's me and I just didn't see it. But with Chloe it's obvious. Because it's not just about sex. They have a real connection. He even looks at her differently than he ever did with Lois. I love Chlollie so much that I ignore the whole him being with her cousin first thing. Because I could never date my cousin's ex, especially knowin that they did the dirty (lol) deed. But that's just me.

**Lucy Luthor: **I'm glad you like it. With Lex, I don't think he even realizes that he's defending her. It's kinda like second nature to him, a reflex. Lana already gets on his nerves and he has to try so hard to bite his tongue from saying what he really wants to. But he won't allow her to bash Chloe, whose skills he has much respect for. He's knows what she's capable of. It's one of the reasons he's kept her at a distance in the past. But Lana is so easy to manipulate. If only he could find a way to shut her up.

**Peanuttoe: **I'm really happy you found this fic. And I'm ecstatic that you find it to be one of the best Chlex fics you've read. I can only hope that it's worthy of such praise by the time I end it. No worries friend, this story is definitely continuing. But I can't believe how long it is already. There're so many scenes these characters still have to go through. I pray that I'm strong enough to get them to the end. I would like to finish as strong as I began. But we will just have to see, so please stay tuned.

**Thank you all for reviewing. You have no idea how much your comments inspire me and keep this story going. So as always…**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	16. Chapter Fifteen: A Word Between Friends

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

**Chapter Fifteen: A Word Between Friends**

Clark stood there gazing at his best friend. _You love her… _Lex's voice rang in his ears. _… you don't even see it do you… _"Chloe." He exhaled._ … she's always been your _Queen_… … you love her…_

"Clark? Are you okay?" Chloe asked with a laugh in her voice. When Clark did not immediately answer, her smile fell into a soft grin. "Clark?" She raised an eyebrow. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Perfect." He blurted out.

Chloe, surprised at his response, jerked her head back. "Excuse me?"

"Your face." Clark replied in a daze before his eyes widened at what he said. "Uh… there's nothing on it. Your face, that is. It's perfect… er… uh… I mean that in the strictest platonic way…" He fumbled over his words. His eyes widened even further with a hint of fear. "Oh! Not that you're not beautiful because you are! I… it's… um…. Can I start over?" He calmed down and gave her a very Clark-ish look. "Hi Chloe." He greeted with a smile.

Chloe just stared at him, turning her head to the side. She then smiled at him that smile that he and every other male loved. "Hi Clark. Have you been downing the coffee lately? Do you have a deadline to make as well?" She continued to smile at him.

Clark just got lost in her glow. "Huh? What? Coffee? Deadline?" He looked confused for a moment.

"I'll take that as a no then." She looked at Clark masking her worry. "Jeez Clark, calm down. What is with everyone down here today? I thought it was the coffee, but now I'm suspicious of the water." She teased.

Clark forced himself to snap out of it and not think about what Lex said. "Um, sorry Chloe. I guess I've just been a little out of it lately." He answered sheepishly. Carefully avoiding brushing up against her, he made his way over to his chair.

Chloe glanced at Lex's closed door. She frowned. "Hmm… I see. It wouldn't have anything to do with the reason for your hasty departure from Lex's office, now would it?" She casually sat on top of his desk.

Clark eyed Chloe as she got comfortable, instantly grateful for her choice of a pant suit that day. But once his appreciation subsided, his mind soaked in what she had said. His mood dramatically changed. "I'd rather not talk about Lex right now." He said through clenched teeth.

The blonde nodded her head. "Okay. Well, would you rather talk about me? Considering I am the reason." She looked him in the eye.

Clark immediately avoided eye contact. "I'm just really happy to see you Chloe. I don't want to get into a fight."

"Why would we get into a fight?" She pressed.

Clark sighed deeply. "Because we usually do when we don't see eye to eye. Which, in this case, I'm sure we won't."

Chloe crossed her arms. "Well, I don't see how you could possibly know that, unless seeing into the future is one of your 'special' talents." She smirked at him. When he kept he gaze away from hers she frowned. "Clark, look at me." Still he kept distant. "Clark! Look. At. Me."

"What Chloe?" He asked as dark blue met green. "What do you want me to say? That I'm glad that you are going to be working for Lex, who might as well be the devil incarnate."

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Oh Clark don't be so melodramatic. It's not that big of a deal."

"If it's not that big of a deal then why didn't you tell me?" He demanded.

"I was going to." Chloe started, ignoring his look of disbelief. She sighed. "Really I was. When the opportunity presented itself." She finished lamely, even to her own ears.

"Really? I guess you haven't gotten wind of the contraption that is the cell phone?" He asked sarcastically.

Chloe's eyebrows rose at his reply. "Wow. Snarky. I like it."

"Chloe!" Clark cried out in desperation.

"Clark!"

Clark frowned. "Could you just be a little more serious right now?"

Chloe sighed. "I'm sorry Clark. But really, it's not that big of a deal. I'm just going to be working as his assistant. That's all." She said. Clark still did not look convinced. She sighed. "I guess I was just worried about how you'd react. But I _was_ planning to tell you." Clark remained silent. Chloe reached for his hand. "Clark, say something. Please."

"You should have told me the minute you started working for him. No, you should have told me the moment he even asked you." He pulled his hand from hers and stood out of his seat. "But instead I find out from Lana. Lana, Chloe. She isn't even an immediate party to the situation. And yet she found out before me." He shook his head. "I thought we were best friends."

"We are!" Chloe slowly slid off the desk. "Clark…" She didn't like the look in his eyes.

"Don't Chloe, just don't. Nothing you say can undo it, so don't bother. See, this is why I didn't want to talk about it." He stated.

"What do you mean?" She asked, confused by his statement.

"Us, fighting. I was enjoying your company. And now, I can't even look at you." He finished turning away from her.

Chloe was speechless. But not for long. She pulled on his arm, turning him to face her. "This isn't an act of betrayal Clark. This isn't about you." He could see the hurt in her eyes.

"I don't trust him. He could be using you to get to me." Clark tried to reason.

Chloe looked away for a moment. _Using me?_ Yeah, she knew that already. But knowing that didn't stop the hurt Chloe felt at seeing how Clark viewed her value. She was more than just leverage damn it. "Is that what you think Clark? That there is no possible way I could get a job based on my merits alone. That he must be _using me_ to get to you. I suppose if he wasn't already involved someone, you'd accuse me of sleeping my way to the top." She seethed. It really wasn't fair to him, she knew. She was twisting his words.

Clark cringed at the mental image of Chloe and Lex together. He sighed, "That is not what I meant Chloe. But this is Lex we're talking about."

"Yes, I know." She replied unmoved.

Clark resisted the urge to shake her and make her understand. "After all that he has done. To me. To you. To La-" Clark cut himself off.

"To who Clark? Go ahead and say it. Lana." Chloe shook her head. "He didn't take Lana from you. She left all on her own. And you're still hung up on that, aren't you? You know what Clark? I can handle myself. I'm a big girl."

_She's a big girl._

"I chose to do this. It's a great opportunity. Just what I need to get back on my feet." She hated lying to him, but he made it easier by bringing Lana up. "Lex can change. He has changed. Hasn't Lana proven that fact?"

Clark looked at Lex's office. "I don't believe for one second that Lex is a changed man, Chloe. Evil is too far buried within him."

Chloe just looked at Clark while he continued to gaze at Lex's door. "Maybe he would be, if you had just been his friend." Chloe stopped talking. 'What am I saying? Am I really defending Lex.' She shook her head. 'It's all an act Chloe. You just need Clark to believe you.' Only, she was beginning to believe it herself. "You only ever see things black and white. With you Clark, there are never any shades of gray. Bottom line, this is my decision. And I have made it. Blame Lex all you want, but in the end, it was my choice. And if you can't handle that, then what I need is for you to leave me alone." She closed her eyes so not to see the look in his. 'Get away Chloe. Get away. This is for the best.' "Now if you will please excuse me, I need to get back to work." She walked away.

"Chloe!" Clark called out, but she kept on walking. He slammed his fist on his desk. "Damn you Lex." He took out his cell phone to make a call. "I'm not leaving you, Chloe." He whispered. "Not this time." Placing the receiver to his ear, he left the bull pin.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Chloe ignored Clark's cries behind her as she slammed the office door shut. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 'It's all for the best.' Opening her eyes she abruptly turned around causing her face to smash into something hard yet soft. 'What the…' She thought as she took a step back. She could feel the door press into her back as her space was invaded from the front. Slowly raising her eyes, sparkling emeralds met turbulent blue. Chloe gulped as she quite literally found herself between a rock and a hard place.

"Miss me already?" A voice silkily asked as its owner's delectable mouth formed into a smirk.

Chloe stared longingly at those lips as she whispered, "Lex…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: And there you have it, Chapter 15. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I promise good things to come.**

**THANKS to all for reading.**

**And Special Thanks to:**

**vamp1987: **Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed the confrontation. I really hoped to keep Lex in character. And yes, I firmly believe Chloe is Clark's Queen. She does everything to protect him. More so than Martha's ever done really, which is why I was disappointed to see her the Red Queen. I plan for Clark's eyes to really be opened up in this fic. He needs to see Chloe for who she is, so that he can realize his mistakes, soon to be greatest regret, and move on with his life. Clark, Lois, and the JL will definitely try to get to the bottom of this. But I'm not sure if they will all work together quite yet. We shall see.

**licette230: **You've made me very happy. For you to feel that I have illustrated Lex's character so well… I'm speechless. I try very hard write him well. It's very important in the conflicts between Chloe and him. Thank you.

**Angie: **I'm glad you found my story. I started it as an outlet from being denied Chlex romance on the small screen. I hadn't really planned for others to see it, but I'm glad I posted it. Because if I hadn't, I probably would have stopped writing awhile ago. It's the reviews that keep my stories alive. And I too have grown to love Chlollie.

**Lovethechruce:** Chloe is great. And in my story, I've allowed others to see her greatness. CW has possibly placed a spell on her which prevents others from seeing it with the exception of a select few. I mean, that has to be the only explanation as to why others would want Lana before her, right? Okay, fine, I'm not making any sense, but whatever helps me sleep at night…

**dhh: **I'm not sure if anyone likes Lana. I mean, does she even have fans. Nowhere near as many as Chloe has, I'm sure. But unfortunately she is somewhat needed for the story. Otherwise, what other outlet could I provide for the others to vent their frustrations? Yeah, they don't pull their punches. But really, have they ever been known to on SV? I don't think so. So I would hate to sugarcoat their love/hate relationship. It's one of the things that makes them so great; as you've already stated. Yeah, I had to include Clark. I hadn't intended to, but then realized that they do have some sexual tension of their own that needs to be dealt with. Even if she's moved on, we need some closure for both parties. I'm not sure I could write Bruce into the fic, only because I'm not sure I could write him. Although, you're post has given me some thoughts. I do decide to, I think I'm going to use the Bruce Wayne from the new films. And probably set it sometime before he started training. At least when they first meet. NO PROMISES! Just thinking. Yeah it's not the 1900-1950, but I think we all know that CW is run by complete idiots. I know the chapters are a bit short, so I'll try and keep frequent updates.

**me11:** Hmm… Lana getting hit by a bus. LOL. You know, everyone wants bodily harm to come to this girl. Maybe I'll try and fit something in… _(laughs evilly) … (me11 joins in the evil laughing)…. (everyone else joins in as well)_

**Alright thanks again you guys. Next chapter up before you know it!**

**And as always…**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	17. Chapter Sixteen: Let The Games Begin

_Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Superman characters. However, the plot is mine._

**Lying Snake**

**Chapter Sixteen: Let the Games Begin**

"_Miss me already?" A voice silkily asked as its owner's delectable mouth formed into a smirk._

"_Lex…"_

Lex's smirk widened. "Yes?"

Chloe's eyes were dazed over. "Lex…" Lex's smirk dropped as he took a step closer. The intensity of his gaze cut into Chloe. She felt exposed, trapped within its heat. "Lex… I…"

Lex looked into Chloe's eyes. Then glanced down at her parted lips. "Yes, Chloe…" He raised his right hand and placed it onto her left shoulder. The touch sent sparks racing up Lex's arm and down Chloe's back.

Chloe jumped at the sensation. She blinked once, then twice, and then she fully came to her senses as she pulled away from Lex, or at least tried to. The door got in her way. She looked at him with wide eyes. "Lex, I… um… how was your meeting with Lana?" She asked, hoping to get his mind back on the woman who shared his bed. It worked.

Lex immediately pulled away from Chloe as the image of Lana floated across his mind. He turned his back to her. Chloe felt a tiny bit of jealousy at how the mere mention of Lana affected him. But she misread his reaction. Lex didn't back away because of some misplacement of guilt, but rather at the annoyance the sound of Lana's name instilled within him. "As well as to be expected. However, I should be directing that inquiry to you, regarding a certain farm boy. I'm confident that at his departure from this office, he immediately sought you out." Lex walked to his desk at sat down. He looked Chloe in the eyes with a smirk. "Am I mistaken?"

Chloe calmed at the distance she now had from Lex. At his question, she immediately stiffened. She did not like the look in his eyes nor the smirk on his face. "No, you are not." She moved further into the room upon realizing how silly she must look staying at the door. "Clark cares a great deal about his friends. I'm not surprised with his concern over my wellbeing." She took a seat before him.

Lex resisted a scowl from appearing over his features. "Yes, of course. The ever gallant Mr. Kent. His chivalry knows no bounds."

It was Chloe's turn to smirk. "Be careful Lex. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were acting a bit jealous. Really, green is so not your color."

His eyes narrowed. "Don't worry yourself Chloe. I have no deluded notions of being the noble hero of this story." He leaned back into his seat with a strange smile pasted on his face. "After all, it's the dastardly villain who has all of the fun."

Chloe raised a brow. "Sometimes Lex, you're just plain creepy."

His smile widened. "And you must hate yourself, because it's at those times that you find me most irresistible."

Her eyes widened. Partly, because he had the audacity to even say such a thing. And partly, because she knew it was true. Meeting his stare, she tried not to squirm in her seat. 'God, I'm such a basket case.' She silently thought to herself.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

He stepped onto the elevator. _Ring… ring… ring… _He pulled out a phone from the inner pocket of his jacket. "Queen."

"_Hey Oliver, I need to talk to you."_

"What's this about Clark?" Oliver asked as he inserted his key into the keypad.

"_It's about Chloe. I think something's up."_

"Yeah, I know the feeling. She wasn't herself earlier. She had a fight with Lois. You have any idea what about?" He asked as the elevator came to a stop.

"_Yeah. Maybe we should meet up and I'll fill you in."_

Oliver pulled his key out and waited for the doors to open. "Sounds good. Just meet me at the clock tower." Without waiting for a reply he shut his phone as the doors swished open. Stepping into his living room, he was surprised to find that he was not alone. "What are you doing here?"

"Ollie, I need your help."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kara walked aimlessly around downtown Metropolis. She first came to town to meet her boyfriend for lunch, but Jimmy called and cancelled. Something about missing deadlines and the need for some serious sleep. She understood and begged him to get some rest. Trying not to feel too disappointed, she opted to pay her cousin a visit at work. However, the window display outside of _Fantasía_, a women's boutique, caught her attention. She looked over the beautiful light blue sun dress inside the window. 'If only Jimmy could see me in that.' She thought to herself.

"Pretty isn't it." A familiar voice said behind her. Kara turned around to greet the owner. "I bet that dress would look wonderful on you Kara."

Kara's eyes widened in surprised. "Lana! Hey. I thought you were in Smallville."

Lana shrugged her shoulders, keeping the smile on her face. "I came to visit Lex, but he's swamped with work. I assume you came to see Jimmy?"

Kara nodded her head. "Yeah, but he left work early. He needed to get some sleep. He's been working like crazy lately."

Lana smiled, then nodded her head to the dress in the window. "That really is a beautiful dress. Why don't you try it on?"

Kara turned back to the dress, looking crestfallen. "Yeah it is. But completely out of my price range."

Lana grabbed Kara's arm. "Well, it's not out of mine. Come on, let's take a closer look." She pulled Kara into the boutique.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Chloe sat in her chair desperately trying not to fidget. She had been sitting in Lex's office for nearly an hour now, awaiting further instructions. What quickly became boredom was now slowly growing into anger as she watched him typing away at his computer as though she were not in the room. It was all she could do not to start grinding her teeth. 'I don't see why I need to be around for this.' She complained silently to herself.

Lex typed away at his laptop, seemingly having forgotten all about Chloe. He forced down a smirk. It would do no good to give her any sign that he was enjoying this.

Chloe continued to glare at Lex. Unwittingly allowing her eyes to glide over his solid frame. From his strong jaw, down his masculine neck, over his broad shoulders, to his hard chest. 'Woah Chloe! What do you think you are doing? Snap out of it before Lex notices.' She mentally berated herself as she averted her eyes. 'Still,' She thought to herself, 'that man can sure wear a shirt.' She quickly glanced back at him before immediately shutting her eyes. 'He can wear a _shirt_! I sound like an idiot!' She mentally smacked her forehead.

Lex glanced at Chloe again. He immediately frown. Her face was scrunched as if she were in pain. "Chloe," He started unsure, "are you alright?"

Her eyes snapped open. She looked at Lex, mortified. 'Great. Now he thinks I'm a moron.' She cleared her throat. "Um, I'm fine Lex, just a… Just a bit of a headache." She finished unconvincingly.

Lex studied her a bit longer. "You sure?"

Chloe quickly becoming irritated, let out a sigh. "I said so didn't I. But while I have your undivided attention, which is a arduous feat in itself, what would you like me to do. I can't sit and watch you all day." Her voiced dripped in annoyance.

Lex smirked. "Pardon me. I was under the impression that you enjoyed ogling my form. My mistake." He tried not to laugh at the expression on her face, so settled on a larger smirk instead.

Chloe made to retort, but was interrupted by the ringing of his phone.

Giving her a not so apologetic look, he answered it. His demeanor changed. Where he was first in a slight playful mood, he was now agitated. Silently steaming. Whoever was on the other side of that phone was not delivering good news. Lex's face was set in a scowl. His words were short, crisp, and straight to the point, giving nothing away, much to Chloe's displeasure. "I'm on my way." He said finally, and hung up the phone. Before Chloe could ask him any questions, he spoke. "I will not be needing your services for the rest of the day Ms. Sullivan. Please retire to the pent house." He shut his laptop, placed it in his bag and stood. "I will see you later tonight." Chloe stood and Lex walked past her and to the door. With one hand on the knob, he looked back at her. "The pent house, no where else." With that he thrust the door open and left.

Chloe was standing with her mouth open like a fish out of water. She swiftly shut it. She clenched her fists and tried to calm herself. 'How dare that… ooh! I can't even say the word.' She walked briskly out of the office, ignoring all around her. "I'll show that pompous, arrogant, ass!" She shouted. Suddenly glad that she was the only one in the elevator. "No one tells Chloe Sullivan what to do." She watched as the elevator doors opened before exiting and stepping out into the lobby. A smile came to her face as she neared the exit. 'Go back to the penthouse?' She resisted a laugh. 'Oh Lex, sometimes it's like you don't know me at all.'

She stepped out of the building and immediately noticed Lex getting into his town car. Making sure she wasn't seen, she quickly hailed a cab. "Follow that car!" She cries enthusiastically. The cab driver looks at her weirdly, but does as told. Chloe smiles sheepishly. "Sorry, I've always wanted to say that."

The driver just shakes his head. "Whatever you say lady."

Chloe laughs as she sits back. She could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins. 'Aww, I missed this. The thrill of the investigation. Chloe Sullivan, you're back!'

The cab continued down the street, surreptitiously following the black town car not to far ahead.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"So… how do I look?"

"Oh my God! You look gorgeous! Jimmy is going to eat his heart out." Lana said as she stood next to Kara in front of the mirror.

Kara looked over her reflection. "Do you really think so?"

"Yes, definitely." Lana smiled at her before walking away.

Kara continued to look over herself, before sighing dishearteningly. "It's too bad that he'll never see it." She turned to go into the dressing room to change.

Lana frowned, "What do you mean?"

The blonde looked at the brunette. "Well, like I said before it's out of my price range. But thanks for coming in with me. Those ladies would have never let me try this on without paying first." She chuckles.

Lana shook her head. "Kara I did not bring you in here to try on clothes. We came in here to get this dress. So we are getting it."

Kara's eyes widened. "But Lana-"

"Don't but Lana me. We are friends aren't we. I want to buy this for you. So let me." Lana sighed. "I miss going shopping with a girlfriend. Chloe and I have not done so in ages. This was fun."

Kara smiled, happy that Lana thought of her as a friend. "Thanks Lana."

Lana waved her off. "No problem. Go ahead and get changed. There's a couple of things that I want to grab. I'll meet you at the front of the store when you're ready." She smiled at Kara, and then made her way deeper into the store. 'Kara is Clark's cousin. She's bound to know him better than Chloe. Maybe she can be of some use to me.' Lana smiled wide. "But for now," She said to herself as she spotted something soft that came in white, black, and… _red_, "maybe a little something to spice up my marriage. And remind Lex, just who he belongs to."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"How did you get in here?" Oliver asked as he looked around the room and then back at his _guest_.

"Spare key. You never did change your locks." Lois explained as she tossed said key to its owner. "But that's not what is important right now. This is about Chloe."

He was all ears now. "What about Chloe?" He walked further into his home, setting the key on his desk.

"Lex." Was all she said.

Oliver turned to Lois immediately. "Is this about Chloe or Lex?"

"Both." She answered.

He resisted a growl. "Stop with the one word answers Lois and start making some sense."

She rolled her eyes. "Chloe is working for Lex."

He widened his eyes. "Come again? It sounded like you said that Chloe was working for Lex." She nodded her head. Oliver shook his. "You must have your wires crossed somewhere. This is Chloe we're talking about. She wouldn't work for Lex." He stated as he walked into his bedroom pulling off his dress shirt.

Lois followed. "Exactly. She wouldn't!"

At the sound of her voice, he turned around to face her. He shirt was off now. He tossed it onto his bed while opening one of his drawers. "Well I'm glad we cleared that up. Now Lois if you wouldn't mind-"

Lois gave a frustrated sigh as she walked up to him and grabbed the t-shirt that he just found out of his hand and shook it in the air. "Really Ollie, you're smarter than this. Have you not heard a word I said?"

He gave her a slight frown as he took his shirt back from her grasp. "I hear you just fine. I'm just not so sure that you can hear yourself." He raised an eyebrow at her, before walking out of his room.

Lois gave a frustrated cry and fell back onto his bed.

Clark sped into the Clocktower. "Oliver!" He paused noticing his friend's state of undress.

Oliver startled by Clark's abrupt arrival, dropped his shirt. Pushing back his annoyance. "Hey, Clark. Good to see you. No need to knock. Who does that anymore these days?" He went to retrieve the fallen article of clothing.

Clark didn't hear a word Oliver said. He took a step forward. "Chloe's working for Lex!"

Oliver paused, slightly bent over. "What?"

Clark clenched his fists. "She's working as his assistant."

Oliver quickly stood up. "His _WHAT_!"

"Well, I tried to tell you Ollie." A soft voice said from behind Oliver. "But you can be a little slow sometimes."

Both men turned to see Lois standing in the bedroom doorway, hair disheveled. Clark looked at her, and then Oliver, then back to her, and Oliver again. His eyes fell down to Oliver's shirt and his eye grew big. "Oh… "

Oliver knowing immediately what he was thinking, quickly pulled his shirt over his head. "It's not what it looks like."

"I'd say it's not." Lois walked further into the room, smoothing down her hair. "Geez Smallville, get your mind out of the gutter." She said as she winked at him.

Clark grew red. "I didn't say anything."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**AN: Okay, ta da! I am still alive for those of you who were wondering. Wanted to get this to you by Christmas, but didn't happen. Oh well. Sorry for the wait. Will do my best to update aLOT sooner. There was more that I wanted to write, but thought that this was enough to at least post so that you guys have something. I'm not just sitting around on my behind. Aside from work and school, I try to work on my fics.**

**I'm already working on the next chapter. So it should be up relatively soon. I know you probably don't believe me and I don't blame you. I hope you are all still reading this though. Try not to be too disappointed with me. One thing I can promise is that I am NEVER abandoning this fic.**

**Hope you liked the update.**

**Oh yeah, and before I forget…**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	18. Chapter Seventeen: Out Of This World

_Disclaimer: I do not own any DC / Smallville characters. However, the plot is mine._

**LYING SNAKE**

**Chapter**** Seventeen: Out Of This World**

The sleek black car pulled up to what appeared to be an abandoned building. Lex exited the car and quickly made his way inside. No doubt to avoid being seen in such a shady part of town. Chloe looked around the neighborhood. It wasn't the worst that she's seen, but still far from the lap of luxury Lex is used to. 'What is he up to?' She tapped on the cabby's window as the cab slowly drove past the town car. She noticed the security surrounding the place. But there was also a small alley at the side of the building that Lex's men were seriously ignoring. 'He needs better security.' But never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Chloe quickly came up with a plan. "Pull up around the corner. You can let me out there." She stated, pulling cash out of her purse.

The cabby stared at Chloe through his rear view mirror as if she were insane. "Are you crazy lady? This is not somewhere someone like you should want to be." He said slowing to a stop at the corner just as she asked.

Chloe resisted rolling her eyes. "It's not that bad. Hey it's not even sundown quite yet." She handed him the cash through the square opening of the glass divider that separated them. "Keep the meter running. There's an extra fifty in it for you if you meet me here in an hour." She said assertively.

Th cabby took the money and thought over her proposal. "Fine. Forty-five minutes minutes, then I'm outta here."

Chloe smiled at him. "Knew you'd see it my way. See ya in forty-five." She said as she slid out of the cab, surreptitiously making her way back to the building Lex entered. Well more specifically, the alley.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lex took in his shabby surroundings as he made his way farther away from the entrance. He was not pleased being called here from work, more importantly, from Chloe. He passed several of his men as he walked down the long hallway. Coming to a stop at the double doors at the end, he did not hesitate to thrust them open, startling the occupants inside. He took two steps in, allowing the doors to fall shut behind him. He walked further, straight to the man he put in charge of this little project. "Explain to me exactly why it is you thought it necessary to interrupt my day regarding a matter on a project of which I put you in charge. Have I made a mistake in thinking that this was something you could handle?"

The man looked shocked and well a little frightened. He motioned to his staff to leave the room. "No, of… of course not Mr. Luthor. Everything had been progressing well. However, we've run into a bit of a… bump." He said, once they had their privacy.

"Bump? Bump!" Lex's usually stoic expression soon morphed into a much colder, dangerous, angry one. "You called me here because of a little bump! Tell me, what is it exactly that I pay you for?" He paused to calm himself. He would not be ruled by his emotions. He walked past the man over to the desk that had various documents strewn about. "Perhaps I have greatly overestimated your abilities Doctor." He turned back to the man in question, giving him a heavy stare. "Remind me why you are on my payroll."

The doctor straightened his back, trying not to show his fear, but failed miserably. "Mr. Luthor, sir, … there's been a _minor_ setback." He noticed Lex raise an eyebrow. Taking that as a sign of Lex's impatience, he hurried along. "The organism is not responding correctly. Whenever we go to extract the DNA from it, it seems to … sort of … implode upon itself. It makes very little sense." The doctor, now less afraid, walks to his desk. He picks up a couple of documents and hands one over to Lex. "This shows DNA being extracted from a living organism. This is what is supposed to happen when extracting from _any_ living organism on Earth." He then handed the other page to Lex. "This shows DNA being extracted from the blood you suppled."

Lex looked over everything. "This shows nothing."

"Exactly. The organism is fighting us; protecting itself from an unknown threat. I have yet to figure out a way around it." He sighs, taking a few steps away from Lex. "Mr. Luthor… I don't think that whatever or whoever that blood came from is of this planet."

Lex stared at him.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

She was sure not to be seen by any of the large men guarding the place. Once she got into the alley, she immediately went looking for a way into the large building. After several minutes of searching, she quickly realized why no one was guarding this area. 'Well this was a bust.' She sighs. She glances at her watch. Seeing that she had thirty-six minutes before her ride showed up, she decided to jot down the address of the place. She could search it later. Turning to make her way back to the corner to wait for the cab, she noticed a small opening on the side of the building slightly behind the dumpster. She cringed at the thought, but walked over to it none the less.

Chloe pushed the dumpster aside, and noticed it was covering up a broken window. "Hmm, interesting." She kicked out the remaining glass, glancing around her to be sure that no one heard. Seeing that no men flashing guns came into the alley, she quickly lowered herself into the opening. "Goodness Sullivan," she grunted to herself, "the things you do for answers." She was halfway through the window, but her feet were still hitting air. She was struggling to support her body by the weird angle in which her body was positioned. She was nearly all of the way in, with only her arms, shoulders, and head still in the alley. 'Just a littler further…' She thought to herself. '… hopefully.' Then a rat scurried by and caused Chloe to jerk back in surprise. She did manage to hold in a scream. Unfortunately, she did not manage to hold onto the window. She fell.

OOOOOOOOOOO

**AN: Yay! I posted again. There's chapter 17 for ya guys. Hope you liked. I was going to make this chapter longer, but wanted to get something to you sooner. Tell me what you think. Already started on the next chapter. Probably will be up this month. Have a great day!**

**:-)**

**And as always….**

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	19. Chapter Eighteen: No Place Like Home

_Disclaimer: I do not own any DC / Smallville characters. However, the plot is mine._

**.**

**LYING SNAKE**

**.**

**Chapter**** Eighteen: No Place Like Home**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Okay, now start from the beginning." Oliver said as he grabbed a bottled water off of the end table. He sat down onto the soft leather of his chair. "Exactly how did this happened?" He asked.

Lois made herself comfortable on the couch across from him, while Clark continued to stand. "All I know is, I am called into Lex's office and when I show up some muscle man is there. I am told to have a seat and Lex will be in to see me. Not only did the ass instruct the brute not to let me leave, but he kept me waiting for like thirty minutes! Do you know how much work I could have gotten done in that time! Who knows what story I missed out on because of that-"

"Let's get back on topic Lois." Oliver said with a sigh. "Where does Chloe come in on all of this?"

Lois straightened her shoulders, forcing herself to calm down. "Okay, like I said, I had already been there for awhile before the doors to the office finally opened. I turn expecting to see the devil himself, but Chloe stands there instead. Of course said devil is right behind her."

Clark frowns. "Why is Chloe with Lex in the first place? Why would they arrive together?"

Oliver was beginning to lose his patience. "Let's hear what Lois has to say before getting worked up, okay?" He said to Clark, and then turned to Lois. "Continue."

Lois leaned back into her seat. "Well, I was thrilled seeing Chloe, you know, like always. But I was a little confused as to why she was at the Daily Planet. Then it hit me, Duh! Chloe must be getting her job back!" Lois explained animatly. "I was so happy. And for a second I thought that maybe Lana really did change Lex because not only did he find and save Chloe, he gave her back what was rightfully hers." Here Lois sighed. "But then of course I had to remember, that this is Lex. There's always a twist thrown into the mix. Chloe got a job, but not at the paper. She's his freaking assistant! How does that happen?" She exclaims.

Oliver takes a sip of his water. He tops it back up and places it back onto the table. There's a distinct frown on his face. "Why would Chloe accept?"

"That's what I'd like to know. Lex is up to no good." Clark voiced, while taking a seat on the couch beside Lois.

Lois shook her head. "I don't know. It doesn't make any sense. I even told her as much. I think Lex has something on her. He must. I even gave him hell for it. But the jerk just smirked at me. I mean, Chloe said that… that it was her choice. But I don't believe her… I can't…" Lois said as her voice lowered to a whisper. "The things she said to me… I just can't…" She got noticeably sadder.

Clark looked over her worriedly. "What did she say? What happened Lois?"

Lois's eyes became teary as she shook her head 'no'. "It doesn't matter, because it wasn't our Chloe." Her eyes then looked pleadingly at Oliver. "We have to find out what's going on."

Oliver nodded his head. "Chloe looked pretty choked up about whatever happened between you two. Whatever was said, I don't think she meant it." He said softly to Lois. Then smiled a little. "Knowing Chloe, she probably said it to get you to drop whatever tirade you were on. She probably did it to protect you."

Lois felt better after what Oliver said. "Thanks Ollie. I needed to hear that. And I think you're right. That's so Chloe's M.O."

Clark clenched his fists. "She wouldn't see reason when I spoke to her. I… I just wanted her to steer clear of Lex. I knew I shouldn't have mentioned him. But she forced me to talk about him, knowing how I felt about it. Next thing I know, we're fighting." He shakes his head. "Then she walked away from me."

Oliver narrowed his eyes. "She pushing us away from her. All of us." He said, they both looked at him. "Why is she trying so hard to isolate herself from us?"

"She's protecting us or…" Lois's eyes enlarged, "she's hiding something from us."

Oliver nodded is head. "Or both."

"But why would she do that?" Clark asked. "She just got back. Why would she do that to us?"

Oliver sighed. "Knowing Chloe, she probably feels she has no choice."

Lois became angry. "If Lex thinks he's going to get away with whatever he's trying to do to my cuz, he's got another thing coming."

Clark stood up abruptly. He walked towards the door. Oliver looked up at him. "Where are you going?"

Clark faced him angrily. "Where do you think? To talk to Lex?"

"Do you really think he's going to tell you anything?" Oliver asked.

"Ollie's right Clark. Besides, we don't want to push Chloe further away." Lois reasoned.

Clark deflated as his shoulders dropped. "Then what would you have me do?"

Oliver stood out of his seat and walked over to Clark. He placed a hand on the larger man's shoulder. "Plan Clark. I promise you, Lex will not have Chloe. But first, we need a plan."

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"I had a great time Lana. Thank you for this." Kara said as she and Lana walked out of the restaurant. After they had left the boutique, Lana offered to have a late lunch with Kara.

"It was no problem Kara. Friends have lunch together all of the time." Lana said with a huge smile. They walked over to the town car Lana rode in.

Kara opened the back door and retrieved her bag from the boutique. "And thanks again for the dress. I don't know how I'll ever be able to pay you back."

Lana raise a hand. "Kara, don't be silly. It's a gift." She smiled at the blonde. Lana stepped into the car and closed the door. She rolled the window down. "It really was nice spending time with you today. I needed this."

Kara beamed a smile Lana's way. "So did I Lana. I guess I'll see you around."

"You know what." Lana said as she pulled something out of her purse and handed it to Kara. "Here. If you ever need anything or just want to talk, please don't hesitate to call. That's my personal number."

Kara took the business card with enthusiasm. "Thanks Lana."

Lana looked pleased with herself. "Goodbye Kara." She rolled her window up and leaned back into her seat. She smiled to herself. 'I'm sure being Kara's new bff will come in handy soon enough.' The car pulled off of the curb and into traffic.

Kara looked after Lana. 'Wow. She is so nice. I can see why Clark loves her.' She smiled, then walked away to a dark alley so she could speed home to Jimmy.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"Ow…" A soft voice moan. The owner stood up and rubbed her bottom. "That's gonna bruise." Chloe said aloud. After a quick stretch, she pulled her phone out of her pocket. Luckily, she did not land on it. Glancing up at the window she fell through, Chloe resisted a groan at seeing how high up it was. 'I'll worry about that later.' She thought to herself.

Clicking on her cell, she used it's light to guide her. 'Note to self, carry a flash light at all times.' She moved the light around the room. She spotted a few boxes. Mostly empty. The room seemed a bit dusty; obviously a basement. But still, Chloe expected some gleam and polish, after all, Lex may play a villian, but he is a clean one.

She quickly became bored of checking each box only to come up short. So she started to peruse the walls. "There must be a door in here somewhere." She stated quietly. She walked further into the room. Still nothing. "Great. A building probably full of rooms with incriminating evidence, but I fall into the one room used only for storage of crap." She says frustratingly. She looks at the time on her phone.

"Crap!" She screams in a whisper. (She whisper screams… o_O, don't act like ya don't know what I'm talking about.) She had less than fifteen minutes to get back. She turned back and headed towards that window. However, the light on her phone flashes against something that quickly grabs her attention. It's a label. "Weird. None of the other boxes have labels." She rips it off of the box and pockets it. "I'll worry about that later."

She runs now to the window. Looking up, she tries to figure out how she's going to get out of there.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"I mean, it's puzzling. Where did you get this specimen?" The doctor asked looking over his paperwork, completely immersed in his work, obviously forgetting who he was talking to.

"That is none of your concern." Lex spoke harshly. "No matter its origins, I want that DNA extracted. You are already behind schedule. I have given you unlimited resources. Find a way." He said with finality. He turned his back to the doctor, heading for the closed doors. He paused before them. "I wish for you to be at the next stage by the end of this week. You won't like what will happen if you are not." He thrust open the doors and made his leave.

Lex walked down the same boring hall as before. Halfway to his exit, he paused. _'I don't think that whatever or _whoever_ that blood came from is of this planet.'_ He shook his head. 'Not possible. There must be another explanation.'

He continued down the hall. He was ready to head home… to Chloe.

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

Chloe starts moving boxes to the window. There were two she found that were pretty heavy, so she pushed those over first. She finally managed to get the lighter one over the other. She stood on it and realized it was not high enough. Checking the time, she only had eight minutes. 'Shit!' She thought to herself. "Okay Chloe, don't panick. Think." She said, glancing around the dark room. "Wait, what is that?"

She went to the side of the room opposite from where she travelled to when she first arrived. There was a table and a chair. 'Bingo!' She quickly pushed the boxes off of the table. She caused a small ruckus, but had no time to worry about that. She pushed the table over to the window. She had to the move the boxes first however. Then she put the chair on top of the table. She stood on it and realized she was still a little short. She got down.

Chloe once again grabbed the lightest of the two boxes and placed it onto the table. She climbed back onto the table and pushed the box to the center of it. She placed the chair on top. "Okay," She said trying to catch her breath, "this should work." She climbed onto the chair with aide from the box. She was high to stick her head and shoulders through the opening. She placed her arms on both sides of the ground and slowly lifted herself up.

She crawled through the opening onto the dirty ground of the alley, beside the smelly dumpster. Her hand touched something squishy. "Eww…" She said, focusing on not throwing up. She continued to crawl on her belly until she was completely out of the basement and in the alley.

No time to check the time, she quickly scrambled to her feet. She turned to the street in time to see a black town car cruise by. She threw herself back behind the dumpster, minding the window. "No. Lex is heading back to the penthouse." She pushed herself from the wall and out from behind the dumpster. She rushed to the alley's entrance. Keeping out of sight of the security, she made her way back onto the sidewalk and back to the corner where her cab was…

'Where the hell is he?' She thought to herself. She glanced at her watch. She was four minutes late. "Oh no…" She moaned, putting her hands on her face, before quickly moving them away. "Ugh, disgusting." She forgot about the squishy stuff's residue. She started wiping it on her jacket.

Chloe was so preoccupied with cleaning, she did not see the vehicle pull up. "Need a lift?"

She quickly glanced up at the voice. And smiled a huge smile. "You're a lifesaver." She said before getting in. "I thought you were gone."

The cabby looked at her through his mirror. "I was, but I couldn't leave you there. Really, it's no place for a girl like you." He gently reprimanded.

"Yea, no kidding." She replied with a relieved smile.

"So where to little lady?" He asked, eyes back on the road.

"Home." She said, then continued to give him the name of the building she was staying. It wasn't until hours later, that she'd realize that she had called the penthouse with Lex _home_.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**AN: I hope you all like. Another update, what is going on? ! ! To be honest, I'm trying to get my current fics done, because I have some new ideas I want to write, plus some old ones I want to revamp. I just realized I am a little ways away from where I want this bad boy to end, so I need to speed up the updates. Especially since the new school year is just looming around the corner.**

**This was a fun chapter to write, and now some things are in play or about to be. I'm a little bit disappointed in the amount of reviews last chapter. Now I'm curious as to whether anyone is still reading.**

**Anywho, already started on the next chapter so… until next time.**

**And as always…**

… **PLEASE REVIEW!**

**If you don't want to review the chapter itself, that's fine, but please at least post telling me you are still reading and interested in this story. It feels weird writing if no one cares how it ends anymore.**

**THANKS! ! ! ! !**

**Oh yeah, there may be errors. Just finished writing and too excited to proof read. If too many tell me and I'll correct them and then repost. YOWZERS!**


	20. Chapter Nineteen: Two Ships Passing

_Disclaimer: I do not own any DC / Smallville characters. However, the plot is mine._

**.**

**LYING SNAKE**

**.**

**Chapter Nineteen: Two Ships Passing**

**.**

Lex was sitting anxiously in the custom leather seats of his town car. Sure, the seats themselves were very comfortable. But he was itching to be behind the wheel of his silver Porsche; '… or at least the Maserati.' He thought to himself with a smirk.

His thoughts quickly moved to the conversation he had had earlier. With a frown, he pulled his brief case onto his lap and opened it. He flicked on the little book light on the inside. He decided to review the files on the specimen he had given the good doctor. 'Alien?' Lex hated to admit it, but this new discovery concerned him. He knew that the blood had strange properties, but this was just bizarre.

He pulled his phone out of his breast pocket and quickly dialed a number. "That subject I ordered you to watch put a hold on it. I have a new assignment for you. …. No, I don't need you to watch anyone. I do, however, need for you to attain information on someone else. …. Come to my office tomorrow morning. I will have the details for you then." With that, Lex hung up.

He then continued to stare at a photo in the file. 'What are you?' He thought to himself, before turning off the light and slamming the briefcase shut. Then he remembered, he had some files that he'd need in his office. He sighed. "Winston," He called out to his driver, "take me to the Daily Planet."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Chloe sat in the back of the cab, looking over her clothes. Yep. She was covered in filth. 'Now how am I going to explain this one?' She thought with a loud sigh. 'Ugh, I smell too.' She shrugged her jacket off. "Okay, this is not going to work." She mumbled to herself. "Hey!" She called out to the cabby.

"Yeah?" He asked back.

"Change of plans, I need to find somewhere to freshen up." She stated matter-of-factly.

He glanced at her through the mirror quizzically, and then turned his eyes back to the road. "Isn't that the reason for heading home in the first place? So that you can _freshen up_?"

"Don't say that. That place isn't my home." She answered quickly, still unaware that that was how she had described it mere minutes ago. But before he could retort, she continued. "Take me to the Daily Planet."

"Isn't that place closed? It's pretty late." He told her.

"I used to work there. Trust me, that place never closes. I can clean up there." She replied easily, still fussing over her clothes. 'I really liked this blouse too.' She thought remorsefully. 'Hopefully Lois still has her change of clothes in her desk.'

"You worked there?" The cabby made a whistling sound. "Are you some sort of big shot? Then what are you doing following strange men and sneaking into abandoned buildings only to get covered in sh-"

"That is on a need to know basis. For now, just get me there." She said firmly.

"I see, must be some sort of undercover reporter work." He gave her a mock salute through the mirror. "Aye yi, Captain." And then remained silent the rest of the way.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Thanks!" Chloe called over her shoulder as she hopped out of the cab. She paid the cabby what she promised him, so he was a happy camper. As the yellow car pulled off of the curb, she quickly made her way into the tall building. Taking the stairs, she soon found herself in the bullpen. She stopped short when she spotted Lex's office. It brought bad memories to surface in her mind.

_Flashback_

"_And you must hate yourself, because it's at those times that you find me most irresistible."_

_Chloe fought a blush. "Sure thing Lex, keep telling yourself that."_

_Lex smiled. "Thanks, I think I will." He then turned his back to her and walked to his desk._

_Chloe bit her bottom lip as she turned her face away. She closed her eyes as she willed her heart to stop fluttering. It's been too long since she's seen a genuine smile on his face. She took a deep breath and turned to face him once more._

_Lex took a seat behind his desk. Upon noticing Chloe just standing in the middle of his office, he raised a brow. "You can have a seat now." He smirked._

_Chloe complied and took a seat._

_"Chloe? Are you alright?" Lex asked, smirk still intact, not sounding the least bit worried._

_'This is not my Lex.' Chloe straightened in her seat. 'This man is not my Lex.' She looked him dead in the eye. 'He is not my… not my…' She suddenly glares at him. "Let's see. I'm your personal slave Lex. Does _that_ seem alright to you?"_

_His smirk only widened. "Well... I don't have a problem with it."_

_Chloe just glowered at him. "You wouldn't." He said nothing, only opened his computer and started typing. She frowned. 'No. He's definitely not my Lex.' Then she tilted her head eyeing his frame. 'But he's just so damn sexy. Still,' She bit her lip, 'I tangled with the devil once.' She thought to herself, thinking of Lionel. 'I'm not sure if I'm up to doing it again.'_

_Chloe moved away from the door and closer to Lex. 'Maybe I can save him.' She mentally slapped herself. 'Can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved.' She thought sadly. 'Besides, he's far from redemption.' Then before she could stop herself, a dash of hope burst into her chest. 'Or is he?'_

_End flashback._

Chloe shook out of her reverie. "Stop it Chloe." She told herself. She needed to remember what she was here for. Steering clear of the skeleton crew, Chloe went immediately to Lois's desk.

Pulling drawer after drawer, she could not find the spare suit anywhere. She was rummaging through various items. "Goodness Lois, you sure keep a lot of crap here." She saw some red cloth and immediately pulled at it. "What in the…" Chloe looked at the garment, if it could be construed as that. She opened it fully by using both hands, to get a better look at it. "Oh Lois…" She shook her head. She was holding what looked to be a red halter dress full of holes and left the chest nearly bare. Remembering where she was, she looked from side to side, surveying her surroundings. 'No one's around.' Quickly refolding it, she pushed to the bottom of the drawer before someone did see. She chuckled a little. "She takes going undercover a little too seriously."

Chloe closed the drawer with a loud groan. "If I was Lois, and I had a lot of junk I for some strange reason wanted to keep in my drawers, where else would I keep my spare suit." She said aloud, thinking hard to herself looking around the room. Her cousin wasn't that complex, so it shouldn't be that hard to figure out. Her gaze paused at Lex's office door again. 'She probably used to hide it in there when Grant still worked here. Here Chloe had to roll her eyes. She loved her cousin, but some things she just didn't agree with. Like, oh I don't know, sleeping your way to the top. And let's be honest, he gave her the best stories for that reason alone.

'Okay, now that he's gone, where would she-' Chloe mentally smacked herself, "Of course!" She exclaimed, earning a few glares from the two other occupants of the room. "Sorry." She whispered to them as she tip toed over to the other side of the desk, at Clark's area. She pulled at the first two drawers. She found papers, pens, paperclips, and lint. 'Really Clark?' She then pulled at the last drawer and found a bag. Taking it out, she peered inside. "Eureka." She said to herself with a smile. 'Leave it to Lois, to bombard someone else's space.' She thought with a grin.

Chloe looked over her surroundings once more. "Now where to change." She eyed Lex's office once more. Why was she so drawn to it? But then a thought came to her. "Hmm… he does have his own bathroom." She said, thinking it over.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Wait here. I'll only be a moment." The bald man told his driver as he stepped out of the town car. They had pulled up to the Daily Planet only minutes ago. He walked briskly through the main entrance.

Moments later, Lex stepped off of the elevator and walked into the bull pen. He paused slightly to glare at Clark and Lois's conjoined desks. Pulling his gaze from the sore sight, he went straight to his office ignoring the few occupants along the way. He frowned slightly as he turned the doorknob. "I could have sworn I locked this earlier."

He quickly moved into his office and deftly shut the door behind him. He appraised the room and nothing looked amiss. 'Perhaps I just forgot to lock it on my way out earlier.' He thought to himself, he did, after all, leave in a bit of a hurry. If only it were that simple however. What with Lex being the paranoid man and all. For the time being, he decided to put the thought in the back of his mind. He'll revisit it later.

Lex sat at his desk and immediately pulled a key out of his breast pocket. He used it to unlock the third drawer on his desk. Pulling the drawer open, he was greeted by the sight of rows of various files. Now to grab the ones that he needed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Chloe had just finished washing her face. And her hair was damp. It had gotten dirty during her little adventure, so she rinsed it as best as she could. "I cannot wait to take a hot steaming shower. So gross." She mumbled to herself, with a quick glance at her soiled clothes.

Moving away from the sink, she pulled Lois's red blouse. Chloe cringed at the color. She always felt that the vibrant color clashed with her blonde hair and fair skin. She really thought the color looked gaudy on her. 'Hey, at least it's clean.' She thought as she slipped it on. She quickly buttoned it up. It hugged her chest nicely, but fell loose around her midriff. She sighed forlornly at the fit. A few months ago, it would have clung to her rather nicely. 'Note to self, pick up weight.'

Chloe then reached for the bag and pulled out a dark gray pencil skirt. She tried not to sigh in dismay at its length. "Really Lois?" The skirt was too short for Chloe's comfort. She slipped it on. 'At least I didn't lose my hips.' She thought with a smile. She looked at herself in the mirror and nodded her head. "Not bad Sullivan." The skirt was a little shorter than she liked, but not too much. "Good thing I'm shorter than ya cuz."

Feeling she's wasted enough time, Chloe bent down and shoved her sullied clothes into the now empty bag. Not paying much attention, she bumped into the waste basket and it fell over with a loud _BANG!_

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lex looked up from the files scattered across his desk. He never did shake that suspicion he felt when he first entered the room. He noticed nothing had been disturbed in the office, but there is one place he hadn't bothered to check. With his eye on the door to his private lavatory, Lex placed the documents in his hands onto the desk and rose from his seat. He then slowly pulled open his top drawer and grabbed the hand gun he kept nestled there for emergencies.

Swiftly removing its safety, he gripped the cold steel tightly, and moved quickly to the bathroom door. He reached out for the knob and immediately twisted it.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Luckily the lid did not come off of the waste bin. Chloe stood it back up. She grabbed her bag and moved to exit the bathroom. However, before she could open the door, someone beat her too it. She gasped loudly as the door was abruptly pushed opened.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lex had a tight grip on the knob as he twisted it. He pushed the door in hastily, wanting to give whoever may have been behind it little to no time to react. Lex, with the gun aimed and ready to shoot, halted in his stance. His eyes widened at what he saw.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Chloe?" The man questioned.

Chloe raised a hand to her chest in an attempt to calm her rapidly beating heart. "Goodness Jimmy. Scare me to death why don't ya." She said, as she started to calm. She gripped the bag closer to herself. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Jimmy stared at her in shock. He shook his head a little. "Umm, just trying to finish that deadline." He told her scratching the back of his head. He moved back to give her room to exit. "You were right about the crash by the way." He told her with a grin. Then glanced at the bag in her hand and the sign on the bathroom door. "Umm, Chloe, why were you in the men's restroom?"

Chloe's eyes widened at the question. She glanced at the door. Sure enough, she had been in the men's restroom. 'How'd I miss that?' "Uhh… I guess I was just in a hurry."

Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. "Honest mistake." He said in an attempt to put her at ease. And it was true too. The restrooms located in the bull pen were older that the others throughout the building and did not have urinals in the men restroom. So they were pretty identical, aside from the signs on the doors.

"Still, pretty embarrassing." Chloe moaned.

Jimmy smiled at her. She was so cute. "So, why are you here so late?"

"Oh, uh, Lois needed me to grab some things from her desk." Chloe smoothly told her fib.

He nodded his head in acceptance of that answer. He then looked over her outfit. "You look very nice today Chloe. I always thought red was a good look on you. You should wear it more often."

She blushed. "Thanks Jimmy. I'll keep that in mind." She said smiling at him. "Well, I better get going."

"Right. I, uh, I'll see you around?" He said in a question like manner.

Chloe grinned, "You bet." She told him, then turned around and headed to the stairs.

He stared, smiling as she walked away.

Chloe walked up the stairs and into the lobby of the paper. She smiled in awe. This place never ceases to amaze her. Not even Lex could cloud her feelings of the brilliance that is the Daily Planet. With a sigh, she walked out the main doors. Quickly turning to her right, she decided to walk back to the penthouse. It was such a lovely night and the apartment building was not too far away. Besides, she knew a short cut.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Lex clicked the safety back onto his gun. With a sigh, he turned away for the dark empty lavatory and allowed its door to close shut. "I need to get some sleep." He told himself, rubbing his head as he headed to his desk.

He placed the documents he was looking at back into their respective files. He handpicked several of the files and stuffed them into his brief case. The remaining ones he placed back into the third drawer on his desk. He then put his handgun back in its place and closed both drawers. Once his desk was locked and secured, Lex grabbed his briefcase and walked out of his office.

"What am I paying you for Olson?" He barked at the red head standing by the men's room staring off into space. "Surely not to stand around and do nothing." Lex said, walking past the young photographer and to the elevator.

Jimmy jumped. "Umm, sorry Mr. Luthor. It, it won't ha, happen again." He stuttered.

Lex stepped onto the elevator as the doors opened. He looked straight at Jimmy. "It had better not. And your deadline has just been moved up a day. Have a good night, Mr. Olson" He said with a smirk. The doors efficiently closed, but not before Lex could see the look on Jimmy's face as it fell.

The doors opened with a ding signaling Lex to step off. He walked down the lobby, in a beeline for the doors to the side of the rotating doors, which were usually locked at this time of night. With a nod to his night security man, he made his exit.

Lex quickly got into his towncar. "Take me home Winston." He ordered tiredly. It's been a long day.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Chloe smiled as she neared the building. It may have been a lovely night, but it was also increasingly chilly. Her jacket was in the back with the rest of her dirty clothes, so the cool air had no problem penetrating her thin blouse and caressing her skin. She saw a black town car pull off of the curb. 'Oh please don't let that be Lex's car.' She begged mentally, hoping her prayers would be answered.

She walked up to the door and greeted the doorman as he let her in. She walked into the lobby and heard her heels clicking on the marble surface of the floor. It echoed loudly throughout the space. Which would not have been so bad had it not warranted the attention of a very handsome and very bald man before her.

Lex turned around at the sound and his eyes widened when he saw Chloe. He then allowed his eyes to roam over her person as she moved closer. They then seemed to settle on the bag in her hands. He frowned. Then looked up into her eyes, which, unless he was mistaken, full of accusation.

"Where have you been Lex?" She asked him.

"I was attaining to some business, as I had mentioned I'd be doing earlier when we last spoke." He told her confidently. "The question is dear Chloe, _where_ have you been?" He asked, leering at her. His eyes resting on her chest.

Chloe blushed. "Never you mind." She pushed past him and pushed a button to call for the elevator. "You don't own me Lex." She told him, keeping her eyes on the elevator doors. She could feel his stare on her. All of a sudden the blouse felt too tight on her chest and the skirt felt too high on her hips. She could nearly feel him open his mouth, readying to speak. Lucky for her the elevator dinged open. It was empty, so Chloe immediately hopped on.

Lex followed after her with a smirk. He put his key into the slot for his penthouse. It was set to go straight up with no stops. He then moved back to take Chloe's visage in. He appraised her shamelessly and nodded his head approvingly. But he stayed silent.

Chloe got impatient with the scrutiny and turned her glare on Lex, who she noticed was staring unabashedly at her chest. "My eyes are up here." She told him angrily.

"I am aware, although," He said with a devilish grin, "that could be argued against." He told her mysteriously. "Why _are _you wearing that?"

She raised a brow, "Wha…" She looked down at herself. She gasped and crossed her arms. "It was _cold_ outside. And it's none of your business why I'm wearing this."

Lex stared at her as her face flushed. He moved closer to her until he was able to place the palm of his hand on the elevator wall beside her head. "Believe me, I'm not complaining. But it is rather warm in _here_." He said, then pushed even closer, their bodies were nearly touching. He bent his head to hover his lips over her ear. "In fact, I'd say it is rather _hot_."

Chloe felt a sudden rush of desire form inside her being. "Lex." She all but moaned.

He moved his head to look into her eyes. "Tell me you feel it Chloe. Tell me you don't yearn." He whispered huskily; his warm breath caressing her soft pouty lips.

She couldn't focus on what he was saying; she could only stare at his mouth. His warm inviting mouth. She reached up her free hand to grip his shirt. "Lex!" She growled, as she pulled him to her. In the back of her mind she could vaguely hear her bag crumble to the floor and his briefcase thump on the ground. She could nearly make out the beating of their hearts and the ragged of the breaths. But none of that mattered the moment his lips touched hers.

Lex pushed Chloe further into the wall. His hands grabbed her at the hips, while hers caressed his head. He couldn't believe this feeling. A feeling he hadn't the pleasure to feel for years. Oh how he had missed it. "Chloe." He moaned as he lifted for air.

"Lex." She sighed, before feeling him tackle her mouth once more. This was wrong, she knew. She just couldn't remember why.

_DING!_

The soft sound was unusually loud for Chloe as it pierced through her ears. They had reached their floor. She felt like someone tossed a bucket of ice water over her. 'What am I doing?' She asked herself as she pushed Lex away. He looked startled, but only for a moment as he heard the doors open. Chloe bent down, grabbed her, and stepped off of the elevator and into the penthouse.

Lex sighed while bending down to collect his briefcase. He then removed his key from the lock pad and stepped off of the elevator as well. He walked further into the penthouse, planning to find Chloe and finish what they had started. He didn't, however, plan for the sight that had greeted him when he entered the living room.

Chloe stood frozen in place with her mouth slightly agape. Her bag and hand pulled up to her chest, as in surprise. Her eyes were wide. She was speechless. Lex narrowed his eyes in concern until he spotted the reason for Chloe's petrified state. "What…?" He tried to asked, shocked himself.

"Surprise!" Lana yelled, with a huge, but awkward smile on her face. She was standing in the middle of the room wearing a red lace teddy. She had on pumps and her hair was curled framing her pretty face; which was done up in way too much makeup for his tasted.

Chloe jumped at the sound of Lana's voice. She blinked a couple of times before realizing the situation she found herself in. "I'm sorry. This is a rather intimate moment." She felt sick. "I'll leave you two at it." She cringed at her chose of words. 'At _IT_.' She quickly made her exit.

"Chloe wait-" Lex started, but was cut off by his girl friend.

"Thanks Chloe!" Lana yelled as she watched Chloe disappear around the corner. She then turned her gaze on Lex. "Lex, darling, I had no idea Chloe was staying here… _with_... You." She stated with a tight smile. She looked like the devil's mistress in all that red.

'I guess she the perfect mate for a Luthor.' He thought to himself. An involuntary shiver went up his spine as Lex decided he much preferred the color on Chloe.

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**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**AN: I know what you are thinking. 'It's about damn time!' LOL. I made a challenge with myself to update this story for Labor's Day. Glad I was able to stick with it. I originally only had the first two scenes written. It didn't even reach a thousand words. I just typed the rest out today, took me about 2 ½ hours. Whoo Hoo! Just glad it got done. Oh yeah, by the way, soooo did not review so, sorry for typos.**

**I can't believe I threw in a Chlex kiss. I originally hadn't planned it for a few more chapters, but I've kept you all waiting long enough. And let's face it; Chloe just couldn't fight that urge anymore. But why or why did Lana have to ruin it all. You know Lex wasn't going to let Chloe get away.**

**I really hope you liked. Please review and tell me what you think. Oh and show of hands, who thought Chloe was in Lex's bathroom? LOL. I hope all of you did, I was trying to write it in a way that you could envision it happening like you were watching TV.**

**Ok enough of the chatter box, Have a wonderful holiday.**

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**Oh and … as always…**

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… **PLEASE REVIEW!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!**

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**I think I've earned it, OVER 4,000 WORDS! Come on!**


	21. Chapter Twenty: Awkward Conversations

_Disclaimer: I do not own any DC / Smallville characters. However, the plot is mine._

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**LYING SNAKE**

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**Chapter Twenty: Awkward Conversations**

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"It's getting late, so I'm heading home." Lois said, standing from the couch. "I'm going to try and sneak into Lex's office tomorrow at work."

"That's too dangerous Lois." Clark argued.

Lois rolled her eyes. "Don't worry Smallville. I'll have you as lookout. It'll be a piece of cake." She smirked, then looked at the blonde. "Don't forget to check through your own resources. If there are any pending deals LexCorp has going down, then I'm sure the rest of you corporate hubs can find that out." She grabbed her bag and headed to the elevator. "If you find anything, you know how to reach me." She stepped onto the elevator. "Night boys." And with that the doors slid shut.

"She sure can be bossy." Oliver admonished.

Clark watched as Lois disappeared through the exit. He then quickly turned his line of vision to the only occupant left in the room. "Okay well, now that Lois is gone, what's the real plan?"

Oliver stood from his chair and walked over to the wall that hid his gear and opened it. "Well, first things first, we're going to need to get the others involved. "I'll contact Victor, he'll get word to the others." He grabbed his bow and started inspecting it. "They've been concerned for Chloe, especially since she's practically refused to see any of them." He pulled the string back, testing its elasticity.

"I can't believe this is happening." Clark shook his head. "Why can't Luthors just leave Chloe alone?" He growled almost to himself. "Lex won't get away with it."

"Whatever _it _is." Oliver frowned. "We're going to have to be careful about this Clark." He told his taller friend, while looking at him levelly. "We can't tip Lex off that we are suspicious of him." Here Clark just raised a dark brow at him. "Well, more so than usual anyway."

Clark thought what Oliver said over, and then nodded to him. "I agree." He said, before becoming mysteriously quiet.

Oliver took notice of that. "What's wrong?"

"It's just that I've been thinking." Clark started, walking towards the window. "You know, when Chloe was missing, I couldn't find her. But Lex did." He turned back around to face Oliver. "I know that Lex has many contacts, but still it feels too easy. He said that the people who took Chloe took her deep underground. I figured that was why I couldn't find her, because I really just didn't know where to look."

Oliver nodded his head at Clark. "But…?"

"I just don't get it. Why did they want Chloe? Not many know about her skills, and knowledge." 'Or her ability.' Clark finished in his head.

"You're right. I've had my own suspicions about that. I even started suspecting Lex, but since Chloe never said anything, I figured it wasn't him." Oliver added.

Clark scratched the back of his head. "But with everything's that's happening now. I don't think she has a choice in being his assistant. So it also makes me think that she didn't have a choice in telling us Lex's real connection to her rescue."

Oliver placed his bow back down. "_IF _he did abduct her in the first place, she may not even know. And she may even feel an obligation towards him and that would explain her being his assistant." He pointed out. "Unfortunately, there is a possibility that Lex is innocent in all of this. Right now we only have idle speculation. We need facts."

"Well, that's where the team comes in. With all of us working together, I'm sure we can find the evidence that we need." Clark asserted.

"I'll put them on figuring out Lex's current plans. You should keep an eye on Chloe as best as you can. She's keeping the guys at a distance, and she's not too fond of me right now." Oliver told him.

Clark immediately looked sheepish. "Well, actually, we had sort of a mini fight at the Planet earlier today."

Oliver just gave him a deadpanned look. "Fix it. You two are best friends, so I doubt it'd be hard to work things out. Besides, Lex can't object to you hanging around her with how close you two are. It'd look suspicious on his part." The blonde explained to his friend.

"Okay, so what are you going to be doing?" Clark asked him.

"I'm going to find out what really happened to Chloe this summer. And even though the supposed kidnapper is dead, there are other ways for me to find my answers." Oliver plainly stated.

Clark nodded his head. "Sounds like a plan."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The sun rays streamed into the room; bathing its sole occupant in a soft glow. The bundle beneath the covers began to stir. It continued to move until a blonde head poked out from beneath the comforter. Chloe squinted as she turned to face the window. "Ugh… five more minutes." She mumbled before turning back around and immediately sticking her head beneath the pillow. 5… 4… 3… 2… 1 seconds later… Chloe's head popped back up. The pillow was flung to the floor. Her eyes was wide open and her face depicted horror as she remember the happenings of last night. "Oh no…" Then her face turned red as she thought about the kiss. She raised her fingers to her lips as though she could still feel his. "… Lex…" She quickly jumped from beneath the covers.

She stood beside her bed, and quickly moved towards her bathroom. She passed in front of the dresser mirror and paused. Chloe eyed her reflection. She still looked a little sleepy, her hair was all over the place, and her pajamas were rumpled. The more she looked herself over, the less she liked what she saw. She could feel all of her teen insecurities crawling back into her mind. She got this way whenever she was interested in a boy. She just felt like she wasn't good enough.

Chloe suddenly shook her head. "Since when did you care what Lex thought?" She asked herself softly. She then pushed her hair to the side. "He's not some boy, he's a man. A dark, sadistic, bastard of a man." She started angrily as she moved closer to the mirror. "And you are not some pubescent pre-teen crushing on the captain of the football team. Get a grip Sullivan." She all but growled at herself. A smirk grew on her face as she felt her confidence slowly came back. But then her thoughts moved back to last night, when she had seen Lana standing in all her glory. She was stunning.

_You'll never be Lana, how do you cope?_

Lex's voice rang in her ears. No matter how far she removes herself from the pink princess, she somehow always gets cast in the girl's shadow.

_You'll never be Lana…_

She hated to admit it, but Lex hit a sore spot. Lana is beautiful. She looked gorgeous last night.; the perfect one for Lex. Whatever attractions he had felt for her were no doubt erased from his mind the moment he saw his raven haired girlfriend. Chloe frowned at the thought of be bested by Lana Lang once again.

"Get a grip Sullivan." She mumbled to herself with a sigh as she pulled her eyes from the mirror. She stepped past it towards the bathroom. "Just get through today." She pleaded, knowing full well that it would not be a smooth one. Fully inside the bathroom, she kicked the door shut.

.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"We're almost ready for takeoff, sir." The stout man informed his employer.

"Good." Replied the man already seated, typing away on his lap top. He only paused in his typing to take a sip from the glass of water at his side. After a few more minutes, he saved his document and closed the laptop shut. With a deep sigh, he placed it onto the seat beside him and leaned back into his own.

It was quite obvious he had not gotten much sleep last night. He just could not get the thought of Chloe off of his mind.

Running a hand through his soft blonde locks, Oliver closed his eyes, hoping to catch a few hours of sleep before arriving to his destination. A couple of minutes pass by and with an annoyed groan, he realized it was going to be a long flight indeed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The doors to the dining room were abruptly thrown open, startling the sole occupant inside. Lana looked up from her plate with eager eyes. Her eyes dimmed slightly when she noticed that the person to enter the room was not her beloved. "Chloe! Good morning! I trust that you had a restful night." Lana, being the thoughtful hostess, asked her friend. Chloe was their guest and she felt it important that her visit is a comfortable one.

Chloe walked further into the room donning a dark gray pencil skirt with thin turquoise stripes and a matching turquoise blouse. Noticing that Lex was not present, it was easy to force a bright smile onto her face. "Good morning Lana. And yes, my night was pleasant." She moved to the seat across from Lana. "And you? How was your nigh…" Chloe trailed off as she realized the implications of the question that she had just asked. She could feel her face heating up and sincerely hoped that it wasn't as red as Lana's was at this moment. In fact, Chloe thought her face resembled the negligée she wore last, "… um…"

Lana seemed to recover as she cleared her throat. "It was… peaceful." She answered, her smile a little strained.

Chloe smiled at the servant who placed a plate of food in front of her. "Thank you." She said softly. Whether it was for the food or the distraction, Chloe didn't know, nor did she care. She was just glad for the diversion.

The two ladies ate their breakfast in silence, neither making eye contact. Chloe's mind was clouded in thoughts of Oliver and the boys, and Clark and Lois. She knew them, and she knew they were probably growing suspicious of her actions. She needed to figure out a way to keep their suspicions at a minimum. Her facial features softened and the rigidness of her posture relaxed as she thought more and more on this subject. No longer was the tenseness that the memory of last brought apparent in her body language.

Lana, on the other hand, was a different story. Her mind was completely preoccupied by thoughts of last night. She donned her sexiest attire and stood in the living room for nearly two hours waiting for Lex to appear. She gave the lobby attendant a decent tip to call her when Lex arrived. The man failed to mention Chloe's presence. Then again, perhaps they had not arrived together. Lana's forehead creased. 'Of course they arrived together. They are always _together_.' Lana was getting sick of it. She then thought about her momentary embarrassment at having Chloe see her that way. But then remembered that she had nothing to be embarrassed about. She was simply surprising her boyfriend.

Chloe noticed Lana's furrowed brow. She momentarily wondered if it were caused by her mere presence. Then quickly grew offended at the thought. Lana was supposed to be her friend. But then she shrugged it off. The girl was probably just embarrassed about last night. Chloe immediately cringed at that thought. 'And I was doing such a good job at forgetting it happened.' She internally moaned.

The brunette set her fork down and grabbed her glass of orange juice. She took a sip. Yeah, she didn't have to be embarrassed about last night, but she was definitely agitated. Not to mention sexually frustrated.

_Flashback…_

_Lana continued to smile as Chloe rushed out of the room. Once she was certain that the blonde was nowhere in sight, or hearing range, she looked at her sleek and handsome boyfriend. "Well, are you surprised Lex darling."_

_Lex resisted a cringe. He hated pet names; well, at least of the Lana variety. The words coming from her mouth were just sickening. He walked further into the room, he set he briefcase down beside the sofa. He knew one of the servants would eventually place it into his office. He gave Lana a once over. She appeared to be pleased by this, but her state of elation swiftly left her upon the words soon to leave his mouth. "Nothing you do _surprises_ me Lana. You're simple nature, however, is quite astounding. What is the cause for this," Here he paused, stepping even further into the room and closer to her, "this poor attempt at seduction?" He asked dryly. He was tired and after Lana ruined his moment with Chloe, he was just tired of her._

_Lana's face, completely devoid of anything resembling a smile, drained of color. "I… I just wanted to surprise you, Lex. You've been hard at work and I just wanted to surprise you." She explained, giving him a look that in the past had him melting in her hands. That was when he thought she was sweet, pure. But he now knew that that was just her manipulative nature. "Are you… are you angry?"_

_Lex eyed Lana. He hated that he ever bothered courting her. He mainly did it to upset Clark, but Clark doesn't seem to even care anymore, having moved on to bigger and better things. So why was he stringing Lana around? The reason escapes him. But he's too tired to care right now. For now, he'll keep her. He noticed the hurt look on her face. He forced his features to soften. As long as he's keeping her, he'll need to keep appearances. "No of course not Lana. I'm sorry, I'm just extremely tired. Hard day and all."_

_Lana stepped down onto the floor, from atop the coffee table. She suddenly felt very under dressed. She slowly wrapped her arms around herself to preserve her modesty, or what was left of it. Even though Lex appeared to be her kind, compassionate Lex, she could not shake the chills the cold Lex caused to go down her spine. "No, Lex it's fine."_

_Considering that he wasn't quite sure what he was going to do with her next, he decided to stay the part. "It's not fine Lana. I should not have spoken to you in such a way. Don't worry; I will make it up to you." He finished taking her into his arms._

_She started to smile softly at him. "I know you've been stressed with work."_

"_And you wanted to relieve the pressure. And I appreciate that you want to do that." He finished for her. He pushed some of her hair behind her ear, and then gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. "But I must retire for the night."_

_She nodded. "Right, I will just go wait for you in our bedroom." She started walking towards the hall, but stopped at his voice._

"_Actually Lana, do you mind taking one of the guest rooms." Lex suggested. He noticed her face fall, and sought to soften the blow. "I haven't been sleeping well lately. And I don't think that having such a delectable creature, such as you, lying next to me will be beneficial to my night's rest." He forced his gaze to become hungry. "I don't think I'd be able to resist you."_

_Lana, as if on cue, blushed a lovely shade of pink. "Of course Lex." She turned once more towards the hallway, and then paused yet again. She faced Lex. "But Chloe is in the guest room across from ours."_

_Lex forced himself not to flinch at her usage of the word _ours_ again. "We have three others Lana."_

_She pouted. "Yes, but they're much smaller, _aaannd_… on the other side of the penthouse"_

_He wanted so badly to strangle the half-wit. Why is she even complaining? No one invited her here. "Sweetheart, it's only for one night." He promised. And it would be for one night. He'd make sure of it._

_Her face pinched as she realized that she wouldn't get her way. She quickly nodded and whispered a good night before heading to the other side of the penthouse. She did want Lex to see the displeased look on her face._

… _end flashback._

Yes, Lana was indeed sexually frustrated. She easily downed her orange juice and immediately requested more. She glanced at the dining room doors, anxiously waiting for Lex to arrive. Luckily for her, she didn't have to wait long. As it was at that moment, when the double doors were thrust open to reveal one sexy, bald billionaire.

"Good morning ladies." Lex drawled out, his eyes instantly seeking a pair of sparkling emeralds. But was promptly disappointed to only be confronted with warm brown, as Chloe never once removed her gaze from her plate.

**AN: I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Mine was great. I had wanted to get this up for Christmas or New Year's, but it didn't happen. Then I thought I'd get it up for my birthday. But that's in a few days yet and I was too excited to surprise everyone, so I posted earlier. Hoping to have the next chapter up soon, maybe I'll shoot for Valentine's Day. =)**

**Let me know how you like this chapter. Now things are starting to get interesting with all the investigation that's about to be going down.**

**Again I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

… **and as ALWAYS….**

… … … **PLEASE REVIEW! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !**


	22. Chapter TwentyOne: Mission Accepted

_Disclaimer: I do not own any DC / Smallville characters. However, the plot is mine._

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**LYING SNAKE**

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**Chapter Twenty-One: Mission Accepted**

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The only sound made in the dining room was the clinking and clanging of the silverware against the china. Ever since Lex walked into the room, Chloe could not remove her eyes from her plate; or at least she would not. And Lex was undoubtedly unnerved by this. Instead of interacting with Chloe, he was subjected to Lana's inane chatter. _'Does the girl ever shut up?'_ He couldn't help but think to himself. Lex was so sick and tired of being polite to his _girlfriend_, but he supposed it was a necessary evil. Still, her voice was grating on his last nerve. He tuned back into Lana's conversation just to see what she was talking about now. _Puppies and… Paris…?_ He rolled his eyes, _"Of course."_ H cleared his throat, gaining the brunettes attention. "That all sounds very… nice, Lana." He interjected.

Lana beamed at his praise. "Well you know how much I love Paris, Lex." She said in a purr. Chloe nearly lost her breakfast. Lex shuddered. Lana continued, "And it's very lovely this time of year." She finished suggestively.

Lex gave Lana his infamous smirk. "Then _you_ should definitely make the trip." He said curtly, and then took a sip of his coffee.

Lana looked crestfallen. "But surely you'll come with me?" She asked unsure.

"Afraid not Lana, I have too much work to do here." Lex said, not so apologetically.

"But Lex… I don't wish to go alone." She whined. "And Chloe could handle things while we're gone. She is your assistant after all." Lana tried to reason.

Chloe's head popped up at the mention of her name. Then she thought, it really wasn't a bad idea. It would get Lex out of her hair, and she could really find out what was going on at that seemingly abandoned building. "Yeah Lex, if you want, I could definitely hold down the fort for you."

Lex looked into Chloe's bright green eyes for the first time that morning. He found it cute how she was trying to be rid of him. But he'll not make it that easy. "As much as I appreciate your initiative Chloe, you've only just started and are in no position to run my company in my absence." He watched as Chloe's hope deflated in her eyes. He then turned his attention to Lana. "As for your suggestion Lana, I have responsibilities to look after here for the time being. If you do not wish to go along, perhaps you should take a puppy. You were just talking about getting one. Or better yet, see if Clark's cousin Kara would like to accompany you. You two seem to be becoming fast friends." He told her, subtly informing her that he knows what she's been up to.

Chloe, on the other hand, had no idea that Lana was spending so much time with Kara. She looked at her debatable best female friend. "I didn't know that you and Kara were so close." She stated with the undertone of a question.

Lana looked at her blonde friend and an easy grin slid onto her face. She liked the thought of Chloe being jealous of her friendship with Clark's cousin. At least that's how Lana saw it; and she proceeded to milk it for all it was worth. "Yeah, actually, I guess we sort of bonded after you went missing." She took a sip of her water. "In fact, we have a lot in common. And she loves shopping as much as I do. So I guess I don't have to twist your arm to get you to do that with me anymore." She finished, all the while smiling at Chloe. "I enjoy spending time with Kara."

Chloe was suspicious the moment Lex mentioned Lana's association with Kara. In fact, Lana's poor attempt to make her jealous of the two's friendship did nothing to calm her doubts. Kara's a stunningly beautiful female, and there's no way that Lana would enjoy being in the company of someone who could rival her own attractiveness. Chloe's frown deepened as she returned her gaze to her half eaten meal, _'She never said as much as boo to Kara before, so why now?'_

Lana smiled widely; glad to see Chloe's envious face. So she continued, "We went dress shopping yesterday. Kara wanted something nice, but sexy to wear for Jimmy." Chloe froze at the blatant mention of the couple. Lana gave a surprised reaction to her own statement. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry Chloe, I didn't mean to-"

"Yes, you did." Chloe said in a stony voice as she looked her once best friend in the eyes.

Lana couldn't help but flinch at the gaze Chloe set upon her. It was clear that what happened between Chloe and Jimmy still hurt Chloe. And to top that with the animosity present in those bright green eyes, Lana felt the guilt building in her stomach. She did not like the feeling. "Chloe… I…" She didn't know how to go about undoing the damage she just caused.

Chloe stood from her chair, and tossed her napkin onto her plate. "Save it." She then looked to Lex. "I'll be waiting at the elevator." She turned and walked out of the dining room.

It was eerily quiet for some time. Lex, as horrible as it may sound, found the entire scene rather humorous. He wasn't surprised by Lana's attempt to be suave, but by the reaction she got out of Chloe. He knew she was hurt. And it angered him that she could be hurt by the actions of fool Olsen. Their _relationship_ had sickened him. And no one was happier at their break-up than he. Lex took a sip from his glass as he eyed Lana over. She was pathetic really; can't even throw an insult without being hurt by it herself. He was silently watching her as she stared retardedly at the doors, as if willing Chloe to come back. This is why she should keep the maliciousness to the professionals. Lex was soon tired of the wounded deer look in her eyes. It was sickening.

Lana turned her doe eyes to Lex as if looking for answers. "I…"

He was not in the mood to hear what she would try to get out. Resisting the temptation of rolling his eyes in a very un-Luthor like manner, he looked her clear in the eyes. "Just go talk to her." It was as simple as that. Not giving her a chance to respond, he stood from his seat and walked to the doors. "You have five minutes before she and I head out. I suggest you make proper use of the time." He figured he'd give them a few minutes alone, and headed to his room.

Lana removed herself from the dining room and headed straight towards the elevators. Even though lately she's been irritated by Chloe's ties to the men in her life, she didn't really wish any form of pain on her old friend. What she did was below the belt and she knew it. Turning the corner, she saw said friend's back, waiting by the doors. "Chloe…," Lana began.

At the sound of Lana's voice, Chloe held in a deep sigh. _'What could she possibly want now?'_ She turned to face the brunette. "What is it Lana? What more smugness do you wish to impose on me?"

Whatever apology was on Lana's tongue quickly evaporated at the tone Chloe now directed towards. Her previous ire quickly returned, and Lana could not help herself. "I can't help it that you're jealous."

"Jealous?!" Chloe asked in exasperation. She couldn't believe that Lana had the audacity to think that she was jealous of her.

Lana's hands found her hips. "Yes, jealous. I, just like your ex, prefer Kara's company over yours."

Chloe flinched when her failure of a relationship was thrown in her face for the second time that day. "What the hell are you talking about Lana?" She asked, clearly becoming upset and a little confused. What was she supposed to be jealous of exactly?

A smirk climbed onto Lana's face. "What's the matter Chloe? Don't like being easily replaced. Well that'll teach you to act all high and mighty with me." She finished in justification.

"Lana, I don't really understand why you're lashing out at me. And to be honest, I'm on the verge of not caring… at all." Chloe told her, frustration obvious on her face. She turned her back to end the conversation, but had to turn right back around at the words that came out of Lana's mouth next.

"Like that's a surprise." Lana said, crossing her arms in front of her. "If it doesn't revolve around Clark or Lois, or now even Lex, I don't expect you to care." There was definitely a note of attitude in her voice now.

Chloe's anger started to simmer down, and her curiosity grew as her intuitive nature took over. "What do you mean by that?"

"Like you don't know." Lana stated. When Chloe didn't respond, she continued. "We used to be friends Chloe. We could tell each other anything. But you… ever since I started dating Lex, the first time, you found excuses not to spend time with me. And then you were always with Lois. Yeah, she's your cousin and all, but… it's not like I wasn't there." Lana told her firmly. The scowl on Chloe's face began to soften with each word flowing out of the brunette's mouth. "So you can drop the jealousy act, because at the end of the day, you left me first."

Chloe stared at Lana. Sometimes she just did not get the girl. But somehow, this little declaration helped Chloe to understand her a little better; … but only a little. It is Lana after all. "Lana, I'm not jealous." She stated in a tired manner. "And while we're on the subject of change what about you?"

Lana was confused. "Excuse me?"

"You're different Lana. You're not the same girl I used to know; the same girl Clark was crushing on." Chloe started shaking her head. "I mean, we've all changed, but you… it's not been for the better." Lana grew offended and tried to interrupt, but Chloe continued. "You've grown cold, vindictive, and downright arrogant. You don't care about those around you like you used to. I wouldn't be surprised if your new found friendship wasn't just a ploy at manipulation. And though I'm sure it's all been influenced by Lex's presence, we can't fully blame him. Because at the end of the day, you decide your actions."

Lana just stood there wide eyed. She didn't know what to say. She disliked it when her character was questioned, it made her uncomfortable. She didn't like all that Chloe had said, but deep down she knew that Chloe was right. She had changed. And at times she didn't like what she had become. _'No wonder Clark's not interested.'_ She thought to herself. That realization hurt more than she could admit. _'Maybe I should go to Paris. Get away from Metropolis… away from Lex.'_

Chloe just watched the girl before her. She was pleased to see the conflict on the brunette's face as she was clearly fighting with herself. It meant that the Lana she remembered was not completely gone. She felt that she needed to say something to make sure that Lana ended up on the right side. "Lana-" But she was interrupted as the bald billionaire that owned the penthouse that they were standing in entered the foyer.

"I presume that you work everything out Ladies." Lex said as he walked past Lana to be nearer Chloe. He surreptitiously called for the elevator. After a few short moments, the doors spread open.

The blonde gave her old friend one last glance before she turned and walked onto the elevator. Lex looked at Lana, a little perturbed by the expression he found on her face. _'What went on here?'_ He wondered, but shook it off, deciding it not that important. "There will be a car here within the hour to take you back to Smallville Lana. You should probably get ready." He told her before stepping onto the elevator with Chloe. He could almost swear that he saw a spark in the brunette's eyes before the doors slid shut. But then he decided it to be a mere trick of the light. Instead he chose to focus on the warmth that emanated from the body beside him.

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Lois took a deep gulp of her coffee. Her face immediately cringed into a frown. "Ugh!" She groaned and the sour taste of the cold coffee. She looked over at her partner. "Hey Smallville, go and get us some fresh coffee."

Clark glanced up from his monitor. "I'm not getting you coffee Lois." He stated in a frustrated tone.

She rolled her eyes. "I said _us_, Clark. Go get _us_ some fresh coffee."

He shrugged his shoulders and went back to his work. "I don't want any, but help yourself."

Lois let out a big sigh as she stood from her desk. "You are impossibly annoying. I don't see how Chloe puts up with you." Her hands now on her hips. Her frown deepened as her mind turned to her cousin.

Clark noticed the change in her demeanor. He let out a soft sigh and looked up to her in a pleading manner. "I'm worried about her too." He said in a hushed voice. "We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise." He told her grabbing her hand nearest him.

The brunette just shook off his words and his hand, not wanting to reveal how much they affected her. "Yeah, I know that Smallville." She said in a no nonsense manner, and turned to leave her desk. She paused after one step, and without bothering to turn around, she said, "But thanks anyway." She quickly glanced back to him with a small grin on her flushed face. She then walked away to retrieve her coffee, leaving behind a bewildered young reporter in her wake.

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Clark sat at his desk typing away on his keyboard. He was working on a few leads for an assignment he was given a few days ago, but he completely forgot about due to his concern for Chloe. He glanced up at Chloe's cousin Lois, as she paced back and forth before his desk. "Could you stop doing that please?" He asked her. "It's distracting."

Lois halted in her steps and turned to give him a nice icy glare. "What's distracting is the fact that we still haven't gotten anywhere with the whole _Chloe-issue,_ and I seem to be the only one still focused on that agenda."

The farm boy just rolled his eyes, without pausing in his typing. "Cut the dramatics Lois. She's my best friend; of course I'm focused on helping her. But first we need to find out exactly what is wrong. Oliver said he was going to check through some of his contacts and get back in touch with us. We just need to be patient."

Lois raised a dark brow at him. "You? Patient? Since when?" She then rolled her eyes at the look he gave her. "Well, I can't just sit around and do nothing." Her gaze then found the door to Lex's office. "Alright Ollie can take care of things on his end, and I'll do a bit of digging on ours." The small grin found its way onto her face.

Clark looked up and followed her gaze. "Oh no Lois. I thought we already decided that it was too dangerous."

"You decided. And I respectfully, disagreed. You'll just have to look out for me." She said before making her way to Lex's office. She looked around her making sure no one was watching. She slipped a bobby pin out of her messy bun, and stooped down to the doorknob. She swiftly began the process of picking it.

Clark sat at his desk. He looked around making sure no one noticed Lois, before bringing his gaze back to her. He wanted to call out her name and get her to come back, but he didn't want to draw attention to her. _'Dammit Lois.'_ He thought to himself as she disappeared inside of Lex's office. _'I hope you know what you're doing.'_ He thought as he went back to his work, while keeping a grasp on his surroundings.

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The brunette walked further into the dim lit room. It was ridiculous how small this office was… well, for a Luthor. Then again, it wasn't an office meant for the owner of the newspaper. She assumed Lex only tolerated the space to stay closer to her or Clark, or both. The question is why. Lois shrugged the thought away as she was determined to get back to the task at hand. She immediately thanked her luck for the small windows, which allowed some sun light to stream into the room. She thought it best to keep the light off. This wasn't her first snoop after all.

Lois immediately went to Lex's desk. Unfortunately for her, the drawers were all locked. She tried to pick the lock, but luck was not one her side this time around. Never one to be deterred, she went straight to his file cabinets. "Damn." She sighed as she realized the cabinets would not budge. And her skill with the pick lock seems to be only compatible with doorknobs. "I'm going to have to get into his office at LutherCorp." She decided. "Ollie and Clark need not know about it." She stepped away from file cabinet and made her way back towards the door, when something beside the desk caught her eye.

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The black town car pulled away from the curb and into the mainstream of traffic. Chloe watched it go further and further away. She clutched her bag as she turned to face the man before her. She was curious as to why they were still standing on the sidewalk. "Okay Lex, where to now?"

Lex was reading a message on his phone. He then glanced at the time. "I am going to head over to my office at the Planet." He said, gesturing towards the building across the street. "You… are to go to your office. You're staff are probably up there waiting for you." He told her, nodding his head towards the building they stood in front of. "I want a proposal on my desk in three days." He stated.

Chloe's eyes widened. "Three days! Lex I haven't even researched the issue yet."

"You can do anything you set your mind to. I have confidence in you. I don't care if you have to work day and night, get that proposal on my desk." He said, turning away from her, and then he halted. "Oh, and when we are working, it's Mr. Luthor. Is that clear, Ms. Sullivan?"

Chloe felt like he was keeping her busy for a reason. Lex never does anything without a reason. As unnerved as this made her, she was aware that he still had the upper hand. She quickly nodded her head. "Yeah, sure thing Le… Mr. Luthor." Lex eyed her a fraction of a second longer than necessary, and then turned and prepared to cross the street. Chloe turned as well and headed into LutherCorp to begin her day.

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Once Clark realized that he was getting nowhere with his paper by glancing back and forth between his monitor and Lex's office door, he just stopped working all together. He glanced at the clock and realized that Lois had been in there way too long. He wondered for a brief moment if she had found something. Just as he decided to use his x-ray vision to check on her, the ding of the elevator grabbed his attention. Clark began to worry as he witnessed Lex step off of the elevator and walk into the bull pin. "Not good." He said softly to himself.

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Chloe walked down the hall towards Lex's office. Though she was not in the mood to associate with _Julie_, she had no choice. She realized as soon as she walked into the building that she had no idea where her office would be. As soon as Julie was in her sight, the busty brunette raised her head up and greeted her with a smile, only to drop it a second later. "Oh, it's just you. I thought Mr. Luthor would be in."

Chloe chose to ignore the girl's attitude. One verbal spar with one brunette this morning was enough. "Good morning Jamie."

"It's Julie." She replied with a frown.

"Of course it is." Chloe responded. "Mr. Luthor will most likely be in later. However, he insisted that you show me to my office." Of course that was a lie, but Chloe would be damned if she had to actually ask this simple little girl to show her around.

Julie did not look pleased. "Well, if Mr. Luthor insisted. Though it's odd that I was not informed."

"He is a busy man. And I did just tell you, so consider yourself informed." Chloe said with a wide bright smile. She should not be getting pleasure out of this, but this was the type of girl that made high school hell for Chloe.

Julie stood up from her desk and placed a _Be Right Back_ sign on her desk before motioning to Chloe to follow her. "Right this way…"

"Ms. Sullivan." Chloe finished for her.

Julie's lips fell into a straight line. "…Ms. Sullivan." She led Chloe down the hall.

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"Lex!" Clark shouted, jumping out of his seat and rushing towards the bald billionaire.

Lex looked towards the source that screamed out his name. "Mr. Kent. I would appreciate that you refer to me in a more professional manner whilst in the work place. Mr. Luthor will do just fine." He told the man he once considered his best friend. Deciding that the greeting was over, Lex moved towards his office, only to be deterred once again at the call of his name.

"Mr. Luthor." Clark said, hoping to gain the older man's attention.

"What is it?" Lex suppressed a sigh.

"Umm… I…" The tall brunette bumbled out.

This time, Lex did not suppress his sigh. "Really Kent, I'm sure I'm not paying you to walk around making useless sounds. Now do you plan on articulating a sentence or two, or may I continue on my way?" He asked, not at all hiding the annoyance that crept into his voice.

Clark instantly frowned at the tone Lex was directing towards him. But he focused himself on helping Lois. "Le… Mr. Luthor, I just wanted to talk to you about the story that I'm working on. With everything that's been happening with Chloe, I've gotten a little behind on my research, and I was hoping for a little more time."

Lex stared at the younger man. "You're asking me for an extension?"

"Yes. Just a couple of days." Clark explained.

"You've never asked me for an extension before. You'd sooner jump off of a building than ask me for anything." Lex's eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion.

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Lois walked back over to the desk. She went straight to the waste bin. "Duh Lane, Snooping 101, always check the garbage." She looked in it and was immediately disappointed. Luthor was pretty clean. There were a few crumbled pieces of paper, but they held nothing of importance written on them. At this point, on the ground, on her knees, beside a trash can, Lois felt pretty silly. "This is stupid. Lex wouldn't leave anything incriminating in this tiny, no-security, Daily Planet paper office." She was just about to give up, when she bumped into the waste bin. It moved over a few inches, but she was able to see something white at its base. She moved the bin aside and saw a piece of ripped paper, with _A1096_ scribbled on it. She wasn't sure if it was the whole number, or if the rest had been ripped off, but she was determined to find out.

Excited about the break she just got, Lois quickly put the bin back where it had been and moved towards the door. She cracked it open peeking out. She paused when she saw Lex, but calmed when she noticed Clark was distracting him. She quickly made her move and exited the office quietly. She made sure the door was locked and headed straight to the break room.

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Clark scowled at Lex. "It's not like I want to ask _you_ of all people for anything. The fact is, I need an extension and you happen to be my…_ boss_… I don't like it, but it is what it is." Clark noticed Lois making her escape. "Besides, aren't we supposed to be on better terms for Chloe's sake? I'm willing to bury the hatchet if you are Lex, I mean… Mr. Luthor."

Lex stared at Clark. He was not moved by anything the boy said. He didn't trust Clark. The boy was just too good at lying to his face. He doubted that he could ever trust Clark again, regardless of them being on better terms. But there was no need to let on to his dislike of the farm boy. An easy grin slid onto his face. "You're right Clark. For both Chloe's and Lana's sakes, let's call a truce." He held out his hand for Clark to take it.

Clark hesitated, before shaking Lex's outstretched hand. "Truce." He said simply.

"And just to show my good intent, I will give you that extension. Two extra days, and no more. I want that assignment completed on time." Lex told him after releasing Clark's hand.

"Thanks." Clark mumbled, displeased at having to thank him for anything.

Lex was not pleased with Clark's attitude. He knew that something was amiss during this entire conversation. He didn't like feeling like he was being distracted. Like this was a diversion. His gray eyes slid over to the empty chair of the desk in front of Clark's. "Speaking of completing assignments… where is your partner?"

"Geez, don't have a cow, Lex. Even you have to abide by the U.S. Department of Labor laws." A snarky voice said from behind him. He turned to witness Lois walk up to them, a steaming cup in both hands. She reached the two of them and handed one of the steaming cups to Clark. "We are all entitled a break from time to time." She said before taking a sip from her cup. "Especially one of the caffeine variety." She then assessed him. "You should really get you a cup. You're looking a little pasty."

Clark grinned at the remark as he took a sip from his own cup.

"Ms. Lane… a pleasure as always." Lex remarked looking at the brunette. "I'm not against any breaks that you may wish to partake; however, I will stress the importance of having your assignments submitted on time. There are plenty of more dedicated and talented writers out there, Ms. Lane, just itching for the opportunity to write for this paper. And if you're not careful, there may just be a spot opening up soon. So if I were you, I'd focus on meeting my deadlines. I'm sure you'd like to one day move up from the basement; though you are the reigning champion for longest reporter down here. Well, you and Mr. Kent here." He basked in the glare Lois sent his way. Feeling that all was right in the world now, he turned away from them, not bothering to excuse himself, and headed to his office.

Lois continued to glare at him, all the way until his door closed shut. "What an ass." She said, looking back at Clark.

"Don't let him get to you. He likes it." Clark told her, his eyes also on the door. He then turned his gaze to her. "Did you find anything?"

She shook her head slightly. "Nothing concrete." Then she pulled a piece of scratch paper from her pocket and showed him. "Only this."

Clark stared at the writing. "This looks like a code, or part of one. Maybe Oliver will have a better idea."

"We should go see him." Lois suggested.

Clark shook his head. "Oliver has left Metropolis."

"What?" Lois asked surprised.

"I think he's working on a lead." Clark told her glancing at Lex's office. "But we can still call him. Let's head over to his place. The phone line there is secured." Lois nodded her head and followed Clark out of the building.

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"Thank you Julie." Chloe called as the brunette walked around the corner and out of view. _'So much for small talk.'_ Chloe stuck the key card she was given into her office door. She noticed the empty desk outside of her office. _'I guess I'll need to hire a secretary.'_ She pushed her door open after the soft beep. Stepping into her office, she was surprised at the amount of people waiting for her. "Uhh… hi, I'm Chloe Sullivan."

The crowd in the room grew quiet at the opening of the door. When the petite blonde made her entrance, they all immediately relaxed at the smile she gave them. "Welcome Ms. Sullivan!" They all shouted, and then proceeded to introduce themselves.

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The young man typed away at the computer console before him quickly and efficiently. He also had various cables connected from his forearms to the CPU. This allowed him to sync himself with the system and in relation speed up his search. A blue light was blinking on the comm; a Bluetooth. He was on the line with someone. "I'm sending you a few coordinates now. This is where Luthor alleged that Chloe was found; and the hotel they stayed at before bringing her back to the states. I figure you could start there, back track and see where she came from."

"_Alright, thanks Vic."_

"No thanks needed." Victor, a.k.a. Cyborg, said to his friend. "Though, I should mention that I've been going over her abductor's confession. I've been puzzled as to why he'd abduct Chloe and take her out of the country. Furthermore, confess to all of it only to commit suicide afterwards. It just all seems too…" He trailed off, looking for the word.

"_Easy?"_

"Clean. The guy has no record; good or bad. It's like he never existed. I don't believe for one second he ever laid eyes on Chloe. What we have here is a fall guy." He explained.

"_I see. I thought as much myself. I just never pursued since Chloe never said anything out of the ordinary."_

Victor's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, well since she's refused my calls, and have not bothered to see any of us, I've become more skeptical at her rescue by the day."

"_I'm sure she misses you guys. She's practically said as much."_

"But she won't see us." A voice said in the background. Victor glanced behind him to see Bart, a.k.a. Impulse, making his way towards him. "No hey Bart, how ya doing? Me? I'm back in one piece." Bart said mimicking Chloe's voice, or at least trying to.

"Not now Bart." Victor motioned for the boy to go have a seat. He then turned his attention back to his conversation. "I've sent Dinah and A.C. to Smallville."

"_Vic-"_

"Now before you get your green leather in a bunch, listen to what I have to say. You're out of the country; the Boy Scout is keeping an eye on Chloe and Lex. If Lex is really behind any of this, then it all started in Smallville. After all, that is where Chloe was abducted."

"Then I should be there to help out. They'll need my speed." Bart pointed out.

"_No, Victor's right. Dinah and A.C. can get in and out. And they haven't spent much time in Smallville, so they can sneak around without being noticed."_

Victor entered a few commands into the computer. "Plus, I've got plans for you Bart. You and I will be heading to Metropolis." He stated, and then continued before either of them could interrupt him. "Don't worry Ollie; Lex won't know we're there."

"_Fair enough. May I make a suggestion."_

"Shoot." Victor told him.

"_Make sure Clark doesn't know you're there either; at least not yet. Victor, you keep an eye on Lex and Bart you watch Chloe. I know Clark's there, but I'm sure Lois won't make it easy for him to keep an eye on the two."_

"I can manage that." Bart said with a grin.

"Sure thing Ollie. We all care about her, and we'll get to the bottom of this. Lex won't get away with what he's done." Victor said, voice full of determination.

"_Thanks guys, I appreciate that. Be safe. Green Arrow, out."_ The line disconnected.

Victor disconnected the line on his end. He turned from the console and stared at his speedy friend. "Well, Bart, I guess we should go pack."

"Already on it." He said, speeding away. "Chloilicious, here I come!"

"We are not to be seen!" Victor called after him, but knew the younger boy didn't hear him. He let out a deep sigh, thrusting his eyes to the ceiling. "This is going to be a _long_ mission."

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OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

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Oliver set the white phone back down onto its base. He saved the coordinates that Victor sent him onto his lap top. His jet had touched down onto the heliport of Monte-Carlo, Monaco ten minutes ago. His luggage was already being removed from the vessel. Closing the laptop, Oliver set it in a bag and threw it over his shoulder. Sliding on a pair of expensive shades, he made his way to the exit and descended the stairs. Chloe had not been found in Monaco, no, but he knew that in order to remain under Lex's radar, he could not simply arrive in the city, let alone the country, that he claimed to have found her. No, he'd have to be careful, and make his way through a neighboring country like Monaco; and go through the back door to where he was really headed… Arles, France.

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**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OO**

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**AN: I cannot express how sorry I am for the wait. I lost my bearings on this story for a while. I didn't have a grasp on the plot anymore. I actually had to reread this fic from the beginning just to remember where I was headed. I'm pleased to say that I'm back on track. Yay! Also, I've finally got the boys and girl (can't forget about Canary) in the picture. **

**So A.C. and Dinah are headed to Smallville to see if Lex is hiding anything. I wonder if they'll find the underground tunnels he has beneath the mansion. And then there's Ollie. What will he discover in France? And poor Chloe, stuck working on a project when she really wants to be investigating Lex's abandoned house. Speaking of that, what does Lex have cooked up? I promise to get into that soon enough. Victor and Bart are headed to Metropolis. I'm sure Victor can keep out of Lex's sight, but will Bart be able to stay out of Chloe's? And let's not get on what Lana is up to. Will she go to Paris and rediscover herself? Will she realize her own indiscretions in the past and stop blaming others? Or will she continue to be her self-absorbed self? Only one way to find out.**

**Thank you all for sticking with this fic. I honestly have not been ignoring it, I've just been trying to find my muse once again. I can tell you that I am excited once more about the story, so I will try and update sooner. I decided a while back to only focus on this story and I would not submit any new chapters to my other ones until this was up. Not to say I haven't been working on the other ones. When inspiration strikes it strikes. But I knew that I needed to get this one up first.**

**So, if you are still there and still reading my story, and still like it. Please let me know. Even if you just want to vent your frustrations out at me, I welcome it. Praise or flame, let me know how you feel. I will never abandon this fic, even if it takes me awhile to update. It is always on my mind.**

**Oh yeah, I did not proof read so... sorry for any errors.  
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**Well, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. And I promise to update in the month of September as long as I get at least 10 reviews. Otherwise, my other reviewed fics will have to take precedence. Well, enjoy your holiday coming up; I know I will.**

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**So please as ALWAYS….**

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… … … … … … … … … … **PLEASE REVIEW! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !**

**I need to know that we are all still in this together. Take Care! ;)**


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